OO'/St 


THE  LIFE  OF 
GENERAL  HUGH  MERCER 


FRONTISPIECE 


THE  LIFE 

OF 

GENERAL  HUGH  MERCER 


With  brief  sketches  of  General  George  Wash 
ington,  John  Paul  Jones,  General  George  Weedon, 
James  Monroe  and  Mrs.  Mary  Ball  Washington, 
who  were  friends  and  associates  of  General  Mercer 
at  Fredericksburg ;  also  a  sketch  of  Lodge  No. 
4,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  of  which  Generals  Washington 
and  Mercer  were  members;  and  a  genealogical 
table  of  the  Mercer  family. 


BY 

JOHN   T.    GOOLRICK 


Illustrated 


NEW  YORK  &  WASHINGTON 
THE  NEALE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
1906 


tsi/oy 


COPTBIQHT,  1906,  BY 
JOHN  T.  QOOLRICK 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

General  Hugh  Mercer Frontispiece 

OPPOSITE  PAGE 

Hugh  Mercer  as  a  country  doctor  in  Pennsylvania.     26 

The  office  and  apothecary  shop  of  Hugh  Mercer, 
Fredericksburg,  Va 32 

The  Quaker  Meeting  House,  Princeton,  N.  J 52 

The  battlefield  of  Princeton  54 

The  Clark  House,  Princeton,  where  Gen'l  Mercer 
died 56 

The  monument  to  General  Hugh  Mercer  at  Fred 
ericksburg,  Va 68 

The  grave  of  General  Mercer  in  Laurel-Hill  Ceme 
tery,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  monument  erected  by 
St.  Andrews  Society 70 

The  Rising  Sun  Tavern,  Fredericksburg,  Va 76 

Kenmore,  at  Fredericksburg,  where  Major  Lewis 
lived 78 

John  Paul  Jones 82 

"The  Sentry  Box"  the  home  of  Mercer,  Fred 
ericksburg,  Va 88 

The  home  of  Mary,  the  mother  of  Washington, 
Fredericksburg,  Va 92 

The  monument  to  Mary,  the  mother  of  Washington, 
Fredericksburg,  Va 98 

General  George  Washington  as  a  mason  and  mem 
ber  of  Lodge  No.  4  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Fredericks 
burg,  Va 100 


M219735 


THIS  book  is  affectionately  dedicated  to 
my  wife,  a  great-granddaughter  of  George 
Mason,  who  was  an  intimate  friend  and 
associate  of  General  Hugh  Mercer. 


INTRODUCTION 

INTRODUCTION  is  only  necessary  to 
this  Life  of  Mercer  in  order  to  return 
thanks  to  others  for  what  I  have  herein  ob 
tained  from  them,  as  well  as  to  disclaim 
any  very  marked  originality  for  some 
things  herein  written.  For  instance,  I 
could  not  and  do  not  claim  any  great  origi 
nality  for  the  brief  description  of  the 
battles  of  Culloden  or  of  Princeton.  Both 
have  been  described  so  often  and  by  so 
many  writers,  that  there  is  "nothing  new 
under  the  sun"  to  be  said  about  them.  I 
only  introduce  them  here  that  I  may  give 
a  full  and  complete  history  of  the  life  of 
Mercer ;  without  them  I  could  not  have  done 
so.  I  return  thanks  and  acknowledge  my 
self  under  obligations  to  James  D.  Law, 
Esq.,  of  Germantown,  Pa. ;  Eev.  J.  Lindsay 
Patton,  Ashland,  Ya.;  Judge  Beverly  B. 
Wellford,  Bichmond,  Va.,  and  Corbin  W. 
Mercer,  Esq.,  Bichmond,  Va.,  for  some 
things  that  I  have  embodied  in  this  small 
volume,  and  which  appear  with  quotation 
marks. 


10  Introduction 

I  was  constrained  to  write  of  General 
Hugh  Mercer  because  I  thought  that  such  a 
life  as  he  lived,  and  such  a  death  as  he  died, 
should  be  written  about;  and  should  be 
written  about  by  some  one  who  is  identi 
fied  with  Fredericksburg,  the  home  of  Mer 
cer.  How  perfectly  or  imperfectly  I  have 
performed  the  task  which  I  have  voluntar 
ily  undertaken,  I  submit  to  the  charitable 
criticism  of  my  readers. 

Eespectfully, 

JOHN  T.  GOOLBICK. 

Fredericksburg,  Va.,  March  1, 1906. 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  Highlands  of  Scotland,  land  of 
brown  heath  and  shaggy  wood — "land  of 
the  mountain  and  the  flood" — has  always 
been  celebrated  in  song  and  story.  Its 
stern  and  wild  mountains,  its  dark  and  si 
lent  glens,  its  deep-lying  lochs  beneath  the 
shadow  of  the  hills,  its  silent,  whirling 
mists  and  sudden  storms,  are  the  scenes  of 
strange  romance  and  ghastly  tragedy.  It 
is  a  very  playground  for  the  novelist's  ex 
cited  imagination  and  the  poet's  wildest 
fancy.  But  withal,  so  barren  in  soil  and 
harsh  in  climate,  that  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Highlands  early  gave  themselves  up  to  the 
delights  of  the  chase,  or  the  dangers  of  the 
sea,  the  pursuit  of  arms,  or  the  joy  of 
battle. 

Picturesque  in  costume,  splendid  in  mus 
cular  development,  trained  in  the  use  of 
arms,  proud  of  their  race,  loyal  to  their 
clan,  they  boasted  their  fidelity  to  their 
friends,  and  that  they  never  turned  their 
backs  to  a  foe.  Restless,  inclined  to  travel, 
quick  to  adapt  themselves  to  new  surround- 
11 


12        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

ings,  the  Highlanders  of  Scotland  sought 
their  fortunes  abroad,  rising  to  fame  and 
wealth  in  many  a  Continental  country,  be 
coming  the  leaders  in  trade  and  commerce, 
in  Colonial  enterprise  and  in  war,  in  all 
parts  of  the  Northern  Hemisphere.  Fru 
gal,  industrious,  persevering  and  brave, 
success  rewarded  their  undertakings. 
Characterised  beyond  all  else  by  loyalty  to 
their  King,  they  were  the  most  devoted  of 
the  adherents  of  the  ill-fated  house  of 
Stuart,  and  they  gathered  around  that  fatal 
standard  with  romantic  devotion.  To  their 
loyalty  this  land  is  indebted  for  not  a  few 
of  its  best  citizens  and  noblest  heroes.  The 
land  of  the  Highlanders — Bonnie  Scotland 
—has  given  to  the  world  in  all  departments 
of  life,  great  men  who  have  taken  conspicu 
ous  parts  in  its  history  in  war  and  peace. 
The  men  from  the  land  of  Bobby  Burns 
have  made  their  impress  on  the  age  and  on 
the  people  among  whom  they  have  lived, 
and  none  occupies  a  higher  niche  in  its  Hall 
of  Fame  than  General  Hugh  Mercer. 

Hugh  Mercer  was  born  in  Aberdeen, 
Scotland,  in  the  year  1725.  He  descended 
on  his  paternal  side  from  a  long  line  of  min 
isters  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.  The  Eev. 
William  Mercer,  his  father,  was  in  charge 
of  the  Manse  at  Pittsligo,  Aberdeenshire, 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        13 

from  1720  to  1748,  and  although  some  biog 
raphers  of  Mercer  give  the  date  of  his  birth 
as  1721,  the  records  of  this  church  show 
that  he  was  baptised  in  1726 ;  it  is  therefore 
thought  now,  that  more  accurate  history 
should  place  his  birth  in  the  year  1725. 
On  his  mother 's  side  he  was  closely  related 
to  the  Munro  family;  her  name  being  Anna 
Munro,  daughter  of  Sir  Eobert  Munro,  who 
fought  with  conspicuous  distinction  in  the 
British  Army  at  Fontenoy,  on  the  Conti 
nent,  and  elsewhere;  and  who,  ordered 
home  to  oppose  the  young  Pretender,  was 
killed  in  1746  while  commanding  British 
troops  at  the  Battle  of  Falkirk. 

Mercer  matriculated  in  the  School  of 
Medicine  of  Marschall  College  in  the  year 
1740,  graduating  in  the  year  1744.  He  had 
hardly  commenced  the  practice  of  his  pro 
fession  ere  Prince  Charlie  made  his  "dash 
for  a  throne "  which  startled  and,  for  a 
while,  stupefied  the  British  by  its  daring 
and  brilliancy,  but  which  was  very  ephem 
eral  in  its  existence.  The  Scotch,  espe 
cially  those  from  the  Highlands,  were  al 
ways  loyal  to  the  House  of  Stuart,  and 
"Wha  shall  be  King  but  Charlie!"  as 
it  was  played  on  the  bagpipes  by  the  kilted 
Highlanders,  his  admiration  for  the  people 
whom  the  Pretender  represented,  and  his 


14        The  life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

convictions  of  the  justice  of  his  cause, 
stirred  up  the  martial  and  patriotic  spirit 
of  Hugh  Mercer,  who  joined  Charles  Ed 
ward  's  Army  as  an  Assistant  Surgeon. 
History  and  tradition  are  both  silent  as  to 
when  Mercer  "linked  his  fortune  and  his 
fate"  to  the  cause  of  the  Pretender. 
Whether  he  was  on  the  fatal  field  of  Fal- 
kirk  on  January  17,  1746,  we  have  no  rec 
ord;  but  on  April  16,  1746,  at  Culloden, 
near  Inverness,  he  is  found  in  the  army  of 
Prince  Charles.  The  Duke  of  Cumberland 
was  on  that  day  in  command  of  the  Royal 
forces  against  the  Highlanders,  and  when 
the  sun  went  down  on  the  field  of  carnage, 
Mercer  shared  with  his  chieftain  the  gloom 
of  his  defeat — a  defeat  that  marked  the  end 
of  the  ambition  of  the  Pretender  and  the 
hopes  of  the  Stuarts.  The  victorious  shouts 
of  the  army  of  the  Duke  sounded  a  veritable 
dirge  to  a  cause  that  was  then  irrevocably 
lost.  The  last  grand  stand  had  been  made, 
and  all  was  over. 

Sir  Walter  Scott,  with  his  splendid 
genius  for  picturing  and  portraying,  in  the 
"Tales  of  a  Grandfather,"  gives  a  graphic 
account  of  the  Battle  of  Culloden;  an  ex 
tract  from  which  may  not  be  inappropriate 
to  embody  in  this  sketch.  After  narrating 
the  events  of  importance  that  led  up  to  the 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        15 

battle,  the  marching  and  the  counter 
marching  of  the  armies  of  Prince  Charles 
and  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  and  especi 
ally  the  unsuccessful  night  attack  on  April 
15th  by  the  Army  of  the  Pretender,  Sir 
Walter  Scott  wrote : 

4 'As  the  lines  approached  each  other  the 
artillery  opened  their  fire  by  which  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland's  army  suffered  very 
little  and  that  of  the  Highlanders  a  great 
deal,  for  the  English  guns  being  well  served 
made  lanes  through  the  ranks  of  the  enemy, 
while  the  French  artillery  scarcely  killed  a 
man.  To  remain  steady  and  inactive  under 
this  galling  fire  would  have  been  a  trial  to 
the  best-disciplined  troops,  and  it  is  no 
wonder  that  the  Highlanders  showed  great 
impatience  under  an  annoyance  peculiarly 
irksome  to  their  character;  some  threw 
themselves  down  to  escape  the  artillery, 
some  called  out  to  advance,  and  a  few  broke 
their  ranks  and  fled. 

"The  cannonade  lasted  for  about  an 
hour ;  at  length  the  Clans  became  so  impa 
tient  that  Lord  George  Murray  was  about 
to  give  the  order  to  advance,  when  the 
Highlanders  from  the  centre  and  right 
wings  rushed,  without  orders,  furiously 
down,  after  their  usual  manner  of  attack 
ing,  sword  in  hand,  being  received  with 


16        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

heavy  fire  both  of  cannon  and  grape-shot. 
They  became  so  confused  that  they  got  hud 
dled  together  in  their  onset,  without  any 
distinction  of  Clans  or  regiments.  Not 
withstanding  this  disorder,  the  fury  of 
their  charge  broke  through  Munro's  and 
BurrePs  regiments,  which  formed  the  left 
of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland's  line;  but  that 
General  had  anticipated  the  possibility  of 
such  an  event,  and  had  strengthened  his 
second  line  so  as  to  form  a  steady  support 
in  case  any  part  of  his  first  should  give 
way.  The  Highlanders,  partially  victori 
ous,  continued  to  advance  with  fury,  and  al 
though  much  disordered  and  partly  dis 
armed  (having  thrown  away  their  guns 
on  the  very  first  charge),  they  rushed  on 
SempilPs  Kegiment,  in  the  second  line,  with 
unabated  fury.  That  steady  corps  was 
drawn  up  three  deep,  the  first  rank  kneel 
ing,  and  the  third  standing  upright.  They 
reserved  their  fire  until  the  fugitives  of 
BurrePs  and  Munro's  broken  regiments 
had  escaped  round  the  flanks  and  through 
the  intervals  of  the  second  line.  By  this 
time  the  Highlanders  were  within  a  yard  of 
the  bayonet  point,  when  Sempill  's  battalion 
poured  in  their  fire  with  so  much  accuracy 
that  it  brought  down  a  great  many  of  the 
assailants,  and  forced  the  rest  to  turn  back. 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        17 

A  few  pressed  on,  but  unable  to  break 
through  SempilPs  Eegiment  were  bayon 
eted  by  the  first  rank.  The  attack  of  the 
Highlanders  was  the  less  efficient  that  on 
this  occasion  most  of  them  had  laid  aside 
their  targets,  expecting  a  march  rather 
than  a  battle. 

"While  the  right  of  the  Highland  line 
sustained  their  national  character,  though 
not  with  their  usual  success,  the  MacDon- 
nalds  on  the  left  seemed  uncertain  whether 
they  would  attack  or  not.  It  was  in  vain 
Lord  George  Murray  called  out  to  them, 
*  Claymore,'  telling  the  murmurers  of  this 
haughty  tribe  'that  if  they  behaved  with 
their  usual  valor  they  would  convert  the 
left  into  the  right  and  that  he  would  in  fu 
ture  call  himself  MacDonnald. '  It  was 
equally  in  vain  that  the  gallant  Keppoch 
charged  with  a  few  of  his  near  relations, 
while  his  Clan,  a  thing  before  unheard  of, 
remained  stationary. 

4 'The  Chief  was  near  the  front  of  the 
enemy  and  was  exclaiming,  with  feelings 
that  cannot  be  appreciated,  'My  God,  have 
the  children  of  my  tribe  forsaken  me?'  At 
that  instant  he  received  several  shots, 
which  closed  his  earthly  account,  leaving 
him  only  time  to  advise  his  favorite  nephew 
to  shift  for  himself. 


18        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

"The  three  regiments  of  the  MacDon- 
nalds  were  by  this  time  aware  of  the  rout 
of  their  right  wing,  and  retreated  in  good 
order  upon  the  second  line.  A  body  of 
cavalry  from  the  right  of  the  King's  army 
was  commanded  to  attack  them  on  their  re 
treat,  but  was  checked  by  a  fire  from  the 
French  pickets,  who  advanced  to  support 
the  MacDonnalds.  At  the  same  moment 
another  decisive  advantage  was  gained  by 
the  Duke's  army  over  the  Highland  right 
wing.  A  body  of  horse  making  six  hundred 
cavalry,  with  three  companies  of  Argyle- 
shire  Highlanders,  had  been  detached  to 
take  possession  of  the  Park  walls ;  the  three 
companies  of  infantry  had  pulled  down  the 
east  wall  of  the  inclosure  and  put  to  the 
sword  about  a  hundred  of  the  insurgents  to 
whom  its  defense  had  been  assigned.  They 
then  demolished  the  western  wall,  which 
permitted  the  dragoons,  by  whom  they  were 
accompanied,  to  ride  through  the  inclosure 
and  get  out  upon  the  open  moor  to  the  west 
ward,  and  form  so  as  to  threaten  the  rear 
and  flank  of  the  Prince's  second  line. 

i '  Gordon  of  Abbachie,  with  his  Lowland 
Aberdeenshire  regiment,  was  ordered  to 
fire  upon  these  cavalry,  which  he  did  with 
some  effect.  The  Campbells  then  lined  the 
north  wall  of  the  inclosure  and  commenced 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        19 

a  fire  upon  the  right  flank  of  the  Highland 
ers  '  second  line.  That  line,  increased  by 
the  MacDonnalds,  who  retired  upon  it,  still 
showed  a  great  number  of  men  keeping 
their  ground,  many  of  whom  had  not  fired  a 
shot.  Lord  Elcho  rode  up  to  the  Prince  and 
eagerly  exhorted  him  to  put  himself  at  the 
head  of  those  troops  who  yet  remained  and 
make  a  last  exertion  to  recover  the  day  and 
at  least  die  like  one  worthy  of  having  con 
tended  for  a  crown." 

But  all  this  was  too  late — the  Pretender 
had  been  defeated;  and  his  army,  broken 
and  shattered,  fled  from  the  field,  hotly  pur 
sued  by  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  and  his 
army.  Of  the  treatment  of  the  fallen  and 
their  allies,  Sir  Walter  Scott  thus  writes : 
"The  soldiers  had  orders  to  exercise  to 
wards  the  unfortunate  natives  the  utmost 
extremities  of  war;  they  shot,  therefore, 
the  male  inhabitants  who  fled  at  their  ap 
proach;  they  plundered  the  houses  of  the 
chieftains;  they  burnt  the  cabins  of  the 
peasants;  they  were  guilty  of  every  out 
rage  against  women,  old  age,  and  infancy, 
and  where  the  soldiers  fell  short  of  these 
extremities  it  was  their  own  mildness  of 
temper  or  that  of  some  officer  of  gentler 
mood  which  restrained  the  license  of  their 
hand." 


20        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

And  in  conclusion,  in  his  discussion  of 
this  battle,  its  causes  and  its  results,  Sir 
Walter  Scott  wrote:  "Looking  at  the 
whole  in  a  general  point  of  view,  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  it  presents  a  dazzling  pic 
ture  to  the  imagination,  being  a  romance  of 
real  life,  equal  in  splendour  and  interest  to 
any  which  could  be  devised  by  fiction.  A 
primitive  people,  residing  in  a  remote  quar 
ter  of  the  empire  and  themselves  but  a 
small  portion  of  the  Scottish  Highlanders, 
fearlessly  attempted  to  place  the  British 
Crown  on  the  head  of  the  last  scion  of  those 
ancient  kings  whose  descent  was  traced  to 
their  own  mountains. 

"This  gigantic  task  they  undertook  in 
favor  of  a  youth  of  twenty-one,  who  landed 
on  their  shore  without  support  of  any  kind 
and  threw  himself  on  their  generosity. 
They  assembled  an  army  in  his  behalf  with 
men  unaccustomed  to  arms,  the  amount  .of 
the  most  efficient  part  of  which  never  ex 
ceeded  two  thousand;  they  defeated  two 
disciplined  armies  commanded  by  officers 
of  experience  and  reputation,  penetrated 
deep  into  England,  approached  within 
ninety  miles  of  the  capital,  made  the  Crown 
tremble  on  the  King's  head,  and  were  only 
suppressed  by  concurrent  disadvantages 
which  it  was  impossible  for  human  nature 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        21 

to  surmount.  It  is,  therefore,  natural  that 
this  civil  strife  should  have  been  long  the 
chosen  theme  of  the  poet,  the  musician,  and 
the  novelist. " 

In  his  flight,  the  Pretender  was  like  a 
hare  hunted  by  hounds.  Flora  MacDon- 
nald,  a  Scottish  maiden,  foiled  his  pur 
suers  ;  and  at  length  he  reached  France  in 
safety.  His  loyal  and  loving  followers 
found  refuge  in  any  way  possible,  hunted 
down,  mercilessly  butchered  when  caught. 
The  terrible  tragedy  of  the  battle  was  as 
nothing  compared  to  the  butchery  of  these 
fugitives  by  the  relentless  and  implacable 
Duke  of  Cumberland.  Historians  may  dif 
fer  as  to  the  right  and  righteousness  of  the 
cause  of  Prince  Charles  Edward.  None 
can  deny  that  William,  Duke  of  Cumber 
land,  has  rightly  written  his  name  as  in 
famous  by  his  treatment  of  the  fallen  foe. 
Campbell  sweetly  though  sadly  sang  of 
Culloden : 

Lochiel,  Lochiel,  beware  of  the  day 
When  the  Lowlands   shall  meet  thee  in 

battle  array; 
For  a  field  of  the  dead  rushes  red  on  my 

sight, 
And  the  Clans  of  Culloden  are  scattered  in 

flight. 


22        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

They  rally,  they  bleed,  for  their  kingdom 

and  crown; 
Woe,  woe  to  the  riders  that  trample  them 

down. 

For  dark  and  despairing  my  sight  I  may 

seal, 
But  man  cannot  cover  what  God  would 

reveal ; 
'Tis  the  sunset  of  life  gives  me  mystical 

lore, 
And   coming   events    cast   their   shadows 

before. 
I  tell  thee,  Culloden's  dread  echoes  shall 

ring 
With  the  bloodhounds  that  bark  for  their 

fugitive  king. 


CHAPTER  II 

HAVING,  as  has  been  before  stated,  fallen 
under  the  shadow  of  a  great  sorrow  by  the 
disastrous  ending  of  the  Battle  of  Culloden, 
and  having  eluded  the  vigilance  of  the  min 
ions  of  the  "  Bloody  Butcher, "  Dr.  Hugh 
Mercer,  in  the  fall  of  the  year  1746,  em 
barked  at  Leith  for  America,  landing  a  few 
weeks  thereafter  at  Philadelphia.  He  did 
not  remain  long,  however,  in  that  city,  but 
made  his  home  on  the  western  borders  of 
the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  near  what  was 
then  known  as  Greencastle,  now  Mercers- 
burg.  And  for  some  years  he  practised  his 
profession  as  a  physician  and,  what  was 
customary  in  those  days,  as  an  apothecary. 
In  that  then  sparsely  settled  section,  the 
territory  over  which  he  rode,  dispensing 
calomel  and  using  the  lancet,  was  very 
large.  Among  the  varied  experiences  of 
this  eventful  and  heroic  life,  none  proved 
more  helpful  and  beneficial  than  the  ardu 
ous,  unselfish  years  spent  as  a  country  doc 
tor  in  Colonial  times  on  the  frontier  of  civi 
lisation  in  Pennsylvania,  a  profession  for 


24        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

which  he  was  well  fitted  by  education  and 
training,  and  by  the  high  qualities  of  en 
durance,  patience,  skill  and  courage.  For 
the  country  doctor's  life  of  that  day  needed 
all  the  strength  of  body  and  of  brain,  the 
steadfast  will  and  tireless  energy.  It  was  a 
wild  and  busy  life  in  an  unsettled  region  of 
scattered  homes ;  distance  and  danger  were 
daily  encountered,  for  the  Indians  still  hov 
ered  upon  the  frontier,  and  life  and  liberty 
were  often  imperiled  by  their  unexpected 
attacks. 

To  this  strange  chance  of  fate  and  for 
tune  came  the  soldier-surgeon  of  Culloden, 
and  here  he  lived  and  labored  for  many 
years,  amid  privation  and  peril,  dauntless 
and  devoted;  friend,  healer,  counsellor, 
benefactor  to  all  within  the  circle  of  his 
far-reaching  ministry  of  comfort  and  cure 
— the  country  doctor  of  the  past.  How  shall 
we  picture  a  life,  a  man,  so  worthy  of  repro 
duction  and  remembrance? 

' '  God  gives  to  every  man 
The  virtue,  temper,  understanding,  taste, 
That  lifts  him  into  life,  and  lets  him  fall 
Just  in  the  niche  he  has  ordained  to  fill. ' ' 

Known  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  re 
gion  round  about,  loved  ancl  welcomed 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        25 

everywhere,  believed  in  and  looked  up  to 
as  one  who  not  only  healed  the  sick,  but  one 
who  strengthened  the  weak,  comforted  the 
weary,  and  cheered  the  sorrowing,  Hugh 
Mercer's  life  as  a  country  doctor  day  by 
day  in  active  duty,  with  saddle-bags  filled 
with  remedies  for  human  ills,  the  old-fash 
ioned  medicines  and  the  ever-ready  lancet 
for  bloodletting,  was  a  splendid  prepara 
tion  for  the  hardships  and  privations  he 
was  in  the  future  called  upon  to  endure.  A 
life  of  hardship  ennobled  by  duty  well  done, 
and  consecrated  by  self-sacrifice. 

It  was  a  rough  school,  but  a  thorough 
one,  in  which  the  country  doctor  learned 
the  lessons  of  life.  As  he  rode  amid  the 
forest  solitudes,  vigilant,  alert,  or  visited 
the  waiting  homes  to  which  his  presence 
brought  succor  and  relief,  his  memories  of 
the  past  merged  in  duties  of  the  present, 
with  only  faith  and  fortitude  as  guides 
upon  the  way,  his  life  might  have  seemed 
unsatisfying  to  a  nature  less  hopeful,  less 
heroic.  All  honor  to  this  man,  and  the 
many  like  him,  whose  daily  round  of  sym 
pathetic  toil  is  brightened  by  the  approval 
of  his  conscience  and  the  benedictions  of 
suffering  humanity.  The  country  doctor's 
lasting  monument  lives  in  the  hearts  that 
loved  and  reverenced  him;  and  no  higher 


26        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

tribute  to  his  memory  can  be  written  than 
the  tender  and  inspiring  words  of  heavenly 
recognition  and  reward,  "I  was  sick  and  ye 
visited  me." 

It  was  a  history-making  era,  that  of  the 
year  of  1755 — the  time  of  Braddock's  dis 
astrous  defeat  by  the  French  and  Indians, 
in  his  attempt  to  capture  Fort  Duquesne. 
There  and  then  George  Washington's 
splendid  career  began,  and  there  Mercer 
made  his  first  public  and  prominent  ap 
pearance  as  a  Captain  in  the  ill-fated  army 
of  Braddock,  conspicuous  for  his  bravery 
on  the  memorable  July  9,  1755,  of  which 
has  been  said,  "The  Continentals  gave  the 
only  glory  to  that  humiliating  disaster. " 
"History,"  says  another,  "furnishes  few 
pages  so  replete  with  instances  of  official 
incompetence  and  consequent  failure  as 
that  expedition,  yet  in  the  list  of  its  Colo 
nial  heroes,  the  name  of  Hugh  Mercer 
stands  ever  bright."  In  this  engagement, 
Mercer  was  severely  wounded ;  and,  having 
been  left  behind  by  his  own  army  in  its 
panic-stricken  flight,  after  a  perilous  tramp 
through  a  trackless  wild,  he  at  length  re 
joined  his  comrades  and  again  commenced 
the  work  of  healing  the  sick  at  his  old  lo 
cality. 

The  Indians  with  their  French  allies  be- 


Hugh  Mercer  as  a  Country  Doctor  in  Pennsylvania 


OPPOSITE     P.     26 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        27 

coming  very  aggressive  and  warlike,  its 
residents  for  self-protection  formed  them 
selves  into  military  associations  of  which 
Colonel  Armstrong  was  made  Commander. 
In  one  of  these  companies  Hugh  Mercer 
was  made  Captain.  His  commission  as 
such  is  dated  March,  1756,  and  he  was  given 
the  supervision  of  a  very  large  territory, 
with  Bridgeport  (then  called  McDowell's 
Fort)  as  his  headquarters. 

During  all  this  time  he  practised  as  a 
physician  among  the  people  and  as  surgeon 
to  the  garrison.  In  one  of  these  Indian 
fights  he  was  again  wounded  and  aban 
doned  to  his  foes.  ' '  Closely  pursued  by  his 
savage  foes,"  says  a  very  interesting  his 
torian,  "he  providentially  found  a  place  of 
safety  in  the  hollow  trunk  of  a  tree,  around 
which  the  Indians  rested  and  discussed  the 
prospect  of  scalping  him  in  the  near  future. 
When  they  had  taken  their  departure,  he 
took  out  in  another  direction  and  com 
pletely  outwitted  them."  Sick  with  his 
wounds  and  worn  out  with  his  recent  strug 
gles,  he  began  a  lonely  march  of  over  a  hun 
dred  miles  through  an  unbroken  forest.  To 
sustain  existence,  he  was  compelled  to  live 
on  roots  and  herbs,  the  carcass  of  a  rattle 
snake  proving  his  most  nourishing  and  pal 
atable  meal.  He  finally  succeeded  in  re- 


28        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

joining  his  command  at  Fort  Cumberland. 
He  was  in  command  of  one  of  the  com 
panies  which  captured  an  Indian  settle 
ment  at  Kittanning  in  1756,  but  was  again 
wounded.  In  recognition  and  appreciation 
of  his  services,  sacrifices  and  sufferings  in 
these  Indian  wars,  as  well  as  his  deeds  of 
daring,  the  Corporation  of  Philadelphia 
presented  him  with  a  note  of  thanks  and  a 
splendid  memorial  medal. 

Mercer  was  placed  in  command  of  the 
garrison  at  Shippensburg  in  the  summer  of 
1757,  and  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Ma 
jor  in  December  of  that  year,  and  placed  in 
command  of  the  forces  of  the  province  of 
Pennsylvania  west  of  the  Susquehanna.  In 
that  year,  1758,  he  was  in  command  of  a 
part  of  the  expedition  of  General  Forbes 
against  Fort  Duquesne.  Whether  Hugh 
Mercer  met  George  Washington  at  Brad- 
dock's  defeat,  or  at  the  headquarters  of  the 
Forbes  expedition  against  Fort  Duquesne, 
there  seems  to  be  some  conflict  of  opinion 
and  statement  among  his  biographers.  The 
time  and  place  of  that  meeting  is  of  no  very 
material  moment.  One  thing  seems  to  be 
absolutely  certain,  that  they  did  meet,  and 
an  attachment  sprang  up  between  them 
which  lasted  as  long  as  Mercer  lived.  And, 
further,  that  as  a  result  of  that  meeting  and 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        29 

that  attachment,  on  the  advice  and  at  the 
suggestion  of  Washington,  Virginia  be 
came  the  home  of  Hugh  Mercer,  and  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania  lost  him  as  a  citizen. 


CHAPTER  III 

SOME  TIME  after  the  end  of  the  French- 
Indian  wars  on  the  western  borders  of 
Pennsylvania,  Hugh  Mercer  moved  to 
Fredericksburg,  Virginia;  and  during  his 
residence  in  that  town  another  Scotchman 
lived  there,  a  fellow-citizen,  one  whose 
name  was  destined  to  "go  down  the  ages, 
sung  by  poets  and  sages " — John  Paul 
Jones!  John  Paul  had  only  one  home  in 
America,  and  that  was  Fredericksburg. 
There  his  brother,  William  Paul,  lived  and 
died.  There  he  lies  buried.  It  was  while 
John  Paul  was  in  Fredericksburg  that  he 
added  Jones  to  his  name,  and  from  there 
he  went  forth  as  a  Lieutenant  of  the  Con 
tinental  Navy.  These  two  illustrious 
Scotchmen,  Hugh  Mercer  and  John  Paul 
Jones,  no  doubt  often  met  and  talked  of 
the  land  of  their  birth  beyond  the  seas. 
Both,  however,  became  illustrious  in  the 
cause  of  the  Colonies  in  their  struggle  to 
be  free  from  the  domination  of  Great  Brit 
ain,  even  though  Scotland  was  one  of  its 
constituent  territories.  In  Fredericksburg, 

30 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        31 

Mercer  commenced  the  practice  of  his  pro 
fession  as  a  physician,  his  residence  for  a 
number  of  years  being  a  two-story  frame 
house  on  the  corner  of  Princess  Ann  and 
Amelia  streets.  His  office  and  apothecary 
shop  was  located  in  the  building  now  stand 
ing  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Amelia 
streets. 

An  English  traveller  in  1784  published  an 
account  of  a  visit  that  he  had  made  to  Fred- 
ericksburg  during  the  Bevolution,  and 
made  this  statement : 

' '  I  arrived  in  Fredericksburg  and  put  up 
at  an  inn  kept  by  one  Weedon,  who  is  now 
a  general  officer  in  the  American  Army,  and 
who  was  then  very  active  and  zealous  in 
blowing  the  flames  of  sedition.  In  Fred 
ericksburg,  I  called  upon  a  worthy  and  inti 
mate  friend,  Dr.  Hugh  Mercer,  a  physician 
of  great  eminence  and  merit,  and,  as  a  man, 
possessed  of  almost  every  virtue  and  ac 
complishment.  Dr.  Mercer  was  afterwards 
Brigadier-General  in  the  American  Army, 
to  accept  of  which  appointment  I  have  rea 
son  to  believe  he  was  greatly  influenced  by 
General  Washington,  with  whom  he  had 
been  long  in  intimacy  and  bonds  of  friend 
ship.  For  Dr.  Mercer  was  generally  of  a 
just  and  moderate  way  of  thinking  and  pos 
sessed  of  liberal  sentiments  and  a  generos- 


32        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

ity  of  principle  very  uncommon  among 
those  with  whom  he  embarked." 

The  inn  to  which  this  traveller  referred 
was  ' <  The  Kising  Sun  Tavern, ' '  now  stand 
ing  on  upper  Main  Street;  and  Weedon, 
who  he  said  was  actively  engaged  in  blow 
ing  the  flames  of  sedition,  was  brother-in- 
law  of  Mercer.  This  intensely  loyal  son  of 
Great  Britain  was  evidently  a  great  ad 
mirer  of  Hugh  Mercer ;  while  he  character 
ised  the  so-called  disloyal  colonist  as  want 
ing  in  that  generosity  of  principle  with 
which  Mercer,  he  said,  was  greatly  en 
dowed. 

Life  in  the  quiet  town  of  Fredericksburg 
during  these  years  was  uneventful.  Mer 
cer  pursued  the  even  tenor  of  his  way  as  a 
country  doctor,  always  a  welcome  guest  in 
the  hospitable  homes  of  its  people;  he  at 
tended  the  meetings  of  Lodge  No.  4,  A.  F. 
&  A.  M.,  of  which  he  and  George  Washing 
ton  were  members,  and  occasionally  paid  a 
visit  to  the  future  " Father  of  his  Country" 
at  Mount  Vernon. 

Some  time  in  the  spring  of  1775,  a  horse 
man  suddenly  dashed  up  the  quiet  streets 
of  his  town  with  the  startling  news  that  Vir 
ginia  's  Koyal  Governor,  Dunmore,  at  Wil- 
liamsburg,  the  capital,  had  removed  the 
Colonial  store  of  gunpowder  from  the  mag- 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        33 

azine  to  the  British  man-of-war  Magdalen. 
This  tyrannical  and  aggressive  act  upon  the 
part  of  Dunmore  only  intensified  the  mut- 
terings  of  discontent  already  existing  in 
the  colony,  and  added  fuel  to  the  flames 
that  were  already  burning.  Messengers 
were  at  once  dispatched  to  the  adjoining 
counties  urging  decisive  action,  and  the 
horsemen  and  footmen  came  pouring  in.  A 
meeting  was  then  called,  and  an  organiza 
tion  perfected  of  which  we  have  this 
record : 

"Election  of  officers  of  minutemen  and 
regulars  for  Caroline,  Spotsylvania,  King 
George  and  Stafford  counties,  Virginia, 
September  12,  1775.  At  a  meeting  of  the 
select  committee  for  the  district  of  this 
county,  the  counties  of  Caroline,  Stafford, 
King  George  and  Spotsylvania,  the  follow 
ing  officers  were  elected : 

' '  Minutemen — Hugh  Mercer,  Colonel ; 
Mordecai  Buckner,  Lieutenant-Colonel ; 
Robert  Johnson,  Major. 

1 1  For  Spotsylvania  —  Lewis  Willis, 
George  Stubblefield  and  Oliver  Towles, 
Captains;  Robert  Carter  Page,  Larkin 
Chew,  Francis  Taliaf erro,  Lieutenants ; 
Henry  Bartlett,  Eobert  Dudley  and  Wins- 
low  Parker,  Ensigns." 

And  "Mercer's  Minutemen"  commenced 


34        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

the  march  to  Williamsburg.  Before  pro 
ceeding  very  far,  it  is  said  that  George  Ma 
son  and  others  urged  them  to  reconsider 
and  wait  for  further  and  fuller  information 
and  not  to  act  too  hastily;  and  the  cooler 
counsels  of  these  advisers  prevailed.  Of 
this,  Alexander  Spotswood,  in  a  letter  to 
George  Washington  of  date  April  30,  1775, 
wrote : 

' i  I  am  extremely  glad  to  inform  you  that 
after  a  long  debate  it  was  agreed  that  we 
should  not  march  to  Williamsburg. ' ' 

Four  days  later,  George  Washington  set 
out  from  Mount  Vernon  for  the  Continen 
tal  Congress.  The  abandonment  of  the  un 
dertaking  may  have  been  brought  about  by 
the  want  of  ammunition,  as  Mercer  wrote 
to  Washington  on  April  25,  1775 : 

"We  are  not  sufficiently  supplied  with 
powder ;  it  may  be  proper  to  request  of  the 
gentlemen  who  join  us  from  Fairfax  and 
Prince  William  to  come  provided  with  an 
over-proportion  of  that  article. ' ' 

Keturning  to  the  town,  they  appointed  a 
Committee  of  Safety  and  adopted  a  set  of 
resolutions  in  which  they  pledged  their  sa 
cred  honor  to  resist  all  attempts  against 
their  rights  and  liberties,  from  whatever 
quarter  they  might  be  assailed,  and  agreed 
to  be  in  readiness  to  defend  the  laws,  the 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        35 

liberties  and  the  rights  of  this  or  any  sister 
colony  from  unjust  and  wicked  invasion  by 
force  of  arms,  concluding  with,  "God  save 
the  liberties  of  America. "  It  is  claimed 
that  this  Declaration  is  prior  in  time  to 
that  of  Mecklenburg,  North  Carolina,  as  it 
is  to  that  of  the  Continental  Congress  at 
Philadelphia. 

A  thoughtful  writer  defines  history 
as  "philosophy  teaching  by  example."  If 
this  be  so,  historic  Fredericksburg  ranks 
high  in  the  role  of  great  names  and  great 
deeds.  Of  the  men  who  made  our  history 
in  Colonial  days,  before  and  during  the 
Revolutionary  War,  many  were  identified 
with  that  old  town,  visited  there,  met  to 
gether  in  friendly  converse  or  earnest  coun 
sel,  and  discussed  the  grave  questions  of 
the  hour — England's  oppressive  measures 
and  the  resistance  of  the  Colonies,  the 
rights  involved,  the  liberties  invaded,  and 
the  crisis  inevitable.  George  Washington 
was  often  there;  Fredericksburg  was  the 
home  of  his  mother.  Hugh  Mercer  lived 
there  as  a  physician;  James  Monroe,  law 
yer  (who  later  led  the  advance  of  the 
Americans  in  the  battle  of  Trenton  and  af 
terwards  became  President),  also  resided 
there;  John  Marshall,  afterward  Chief  Jus 
tice,  and  George  Mason  of  Gunston  Hall, 


36        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

leaders  of  thought,  patriots  of  action,  all 
found  Fredericksburg  a  pleasant  and  con 
venient  meeting  place  in  those  days,  omi 
nous  of  threatening  strife  and  deadly  con 
flict. 

In  September,  1774,  the  General  Con 
gress  of  the  Colonies  met  in  Philadelphia, 
the  assembled  delegates  representing  the 
best  and  wisest,  the  most  determined  and 
patriotic  men  of  the  land.  Peyton  Ean- 
dolph,  of  Virginia,  was  chosen  president; 
and  a  declaration  of  rights  and  a  series  of 
resolutions  were  adopted  which  ' '  for  solid 
ity  of  reasoning,  force  of  sagacity,  and  wis 
dom  of  conclusion7'  have  never  been  ex 
celled.  The  session  ended  on  the  26th  of 
October,  and  it  was  recommended  that  an 
other  Congress  meet  in  May,  1775.  The 
war-cloud  was  lowering. 

In  March,  1775,  the  Virginia  Convention 
assembled  in  St.  John's  Church,  Richmond, 
and  Patrick  Henry's  magnetic  eloquence, 
his  splendid  rallying  cry  of  "Liberty  or 
death,"  stirred  all  hearts  to  decision  and 
action.  During  these  months  of  hesitation, 
anxiety,  possible  compromise,  yet  contin 
ued  aggression,  we  can  imagine  this  group 
of  patriots  in  Fredericksburg  keenly  alive 
to  the  hazardous  trend  of  public  affairs 
which  culminated  in  open  hostilities  at  Lex- 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        37 

ington  and  Concord.  The  Eising  Sun  tav 
ern  was  then  the  centre  of  public  entertain 
ment;  and  its  genial  host  was  Mr.  George 
Weedon,  who  afterwards  became  a  Major- 
General  in  the  Continental  Army.  The 
cosy  apartments  of  the  inn,  its  bright  wood 
fires  and  comfortable  surroundings,  in 
duced  good-fellowship  and  free  exchange  of 
opinions.  There  was  no  need  of  argument, 
as  all  were  true  patriots.  It  was  surely  as 
picturesque  a  scene  as  history  ever  painted 
—those  men  in  conversation  at  the  '  *  Rising 
Sun!"  Washington,  wise  and  calm;  Mer 
cer,  with  patriotic  power  and  battle  memor 
ies  surging  in  his  heart;  impetuous  Paul 
Jones,  eager  for  the  fray;  young  Monroe, 
summing  up  the  wrongs  of  the  Colonies, 
and  ready  to  avenge  them;  Marshall,  the 
learned  jurist,  the  great  advocate  of  jus 
tice,  and  George  Mason,  one  of  the  great 
lights  of  history,  whose  genius  illuminated 
the  cause  and  established  its  principles. 
Can  we  not  see  them  all,  great  men,  whose 
example  lives  still,  whose  names  are  blaz 
oned  on  "the  roll-call  of  the  immortals. " 

Madam  Washington,  as  she  was  called, 
lived  not  far  from  the  Rising  Sun  tavern, 
and  would  have  enjoyed  the  earnest  dis 
cussions  therein  (which  no  doubt  George 
reported  to  her),  as  her  sterling  good  sense 


38        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

and  keen  observation  made  her  opinions  of 
decided  weight  and  influence. 

After  the  removal  of  the  powder,  above 
referred  to,  the  news  of  unjustifiable  acts 
of  aggression  by  the  Crown  in  other  Colo 
nies  came  thick  and  fast.  Events  with 
startling  rapidity  followed  one  after  an 
other.  Concord  and  Lexington  had  been 
heard  from ;  Virginia 's  Patrick  Henry  had 
uttered  the  words  that  were  heard  around 
the  world ;  and  the  Revolution  was  inaugu 
rated.  Three  regiments  were  formed. 
Henry  was  made  Colonel  of  the  First, 
elected  over  Hugh  Mercer  by  one  vote  in  a 
contest  for  the  colonelcy. 

William  Woodford  of  Caroline  County 
became  Colonel  of  the  Second,  and  Mercer, 
Colonel  of  the  Third  Regiment,  of  which  his 
brother-in-law,  Weedon,  was  the  Lieuten 
ant-Colonel  ;  and  Thomas  Marshall  of  Fau- 
quier  County,  the  father  of  John  Marshall 
who  afterwards  became  Chief  Justice,  was 
the  Major.  About  this  time,  Mercer,  who 
had  married  Miss  Isabella  Gordon,  daugh 
ter  of  John  Gordon,  resided  in  what  is 
known  as  "The  Sentry-Box, "  on  lower 
Main  Street,  a  house  which  is  still  in  good 
condition  and  well  preserved. 

The  election  of  Mercer  to  the  colonelcy 
of  this  Third  Regiment  was  a  veritable  case 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        39 

of  the  "office  seeking  the  man,"  for  when 
the  storm-cloud  of  war  first  appeared,  Mer 
cer  made  an  offer  of  his  services  to  the  Vir 
ginia  Convention  in  these  expressive  but 
brief  words :  "Hugh  Mercer  will  serve  his 
adopted  country  and  the  cause  of  Liberty 
in  any  rank  or  station  to  which  he  may  be 
assigned, "  words  which  found  their  echo 
in  what  he  said  later. 

"We  are  not  engaged,"  said  he,  "in  a 
war  of  ambition,  or  I  should  not  have  been 
here.  Every  man  should  be  content  to 
serve  in  that  station  in  which  he  can  be 
most  useful.  For  my  part,  I  have  but  one 
object  in  view,  and  that  is,  the  success  of 
the  cause ;  and  God  can  witness  how  cheer 
fully  I  would  lay  down  my  life  to  secure 
it."' 

William  Wirt,  in  his  Life  of  Patrick 
Henry,  has  this  to  say  in  connection  with 
Mercer's  appointment: 

'  i  Three  Eegiments  of  one  thousand  men 
each  was  first  determined  on,  and  Patrick 
Henry's  friends  nominated  him  for  Colonel 
of  the  First  Regiment,  it  having  been  de 
termined  that  this  officer  should  be  the 
Commander-in-Chief  of  the  forces  to  be 
raised.  The  opposition  united  on  Dr.  Hugh 
Mercer  of  Fredericksburg,  who  had  served 
with  great  distinction  under  Washington 


40        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

in  the  French  and  Indian  War  of  1755.  It 
is  no  wonder  that  men,  with  so  much  at 
stake,  should  have  hesitated  to  place  in 
command  of  their  entire  forces  a  man  of 
no  military  experience  (Patrick  Henry), 
however  great  his  abilities  as  a  civilian. 
The  first  ballot  stood  for  Hugh  Mercer  41, 
for  Patrick  Henry  40,  for  Thomas  Nelson 
8,  and  for  William  Woodford  1. 

' '  The  second  ballot  between  the  two  high 
est  resulted  in  the  election  of  Mr.  Henry, 
although  Mercer  and  Woodford  were  offi 
cers  of  experience  and  ability.  Nothing 
but  the  conviction  of  the  majority  that  the 
qualities  which  made  Mr.  Henry  a  great 
political  leader  would  also  make  him  a  good 
Colonel  can  explain  their  action  in  prefer 
ring  him  (Patrick  Henry)  as  the  Comman- 
der-in-Chief  of  the  Virginia  forces.  Mer 
cer  was  objected  to  for  being  a  North 
Briton.  In  answer  to  this  objection  it  was 
admitted  that  Mercer  was  born  in  Scotland, 
but  that  he  came  to  America  in  his  early 
years  and  had  constantly  resided  in  it  from 
his  first  coming  over;  that  his  family  and 
all  his  other  connections  were  in  this  col 
ony;  that  he  had  uniformly  distinguished 
himself  as  a  warm  and  firm  friend  of  the 
rights  of  America;  and  what  was  a  princi 
pal  consideration,  that  he  possessed  great 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        41 

military  as  well  as  literary  abilities.  Mr. 
Nelson  acknowledged  Mercer 's  military 
abilities,  declared  he  would  not  oppose  his 
appointment,  and  hoped  that  he  himself 
would  not  be  voted  for.  Mr.  Woodford, 
who  was  not  at  that  time  a  member  of  the 
Convention,  spoke  much  in  favor  of  Mer 
cer,  declaring  that  he  was  willing  to  serve 
under  him,  as  he  knew  him  to  be  a  fine 
officer. ' ' 

Mercer's  election  is  thus  recorded  in 
the  proceedings  of  the  Virginia  Conven 
tion: 

"Wednesday,  January  10,  1776,  Conven 
tion  proceeded  by  ballot  to  the  appointment 
of  a  Colonel  of  the  Third  Regiment,  and 
there  was  a  majority  of  the  whole  Conven 
tion  in  favor  of  Hugh  Mercer.  Resolved, 
therefore,  that  the  said  Hugh  Mercer  be 
appointed  Colonel  of  the  Third  Regiment. ' ' 

When  the  Committee  of  Safety  heard  of 
Mercer's  appointment,  it  passed  these  reso 
lutions  : 

"The  committee  of  the  county,  to  express 
their  approbation  of  the  appointment  of 
Col.  Mercer,  and  to  pay  a  tribute  justly 
due  to  the  noble  and  patriotic  conduct 
which  that  gentleman  has  uniformly  pur 
sued  since  the  commencement  of  our  dis 
putes  with  the  Mother  Country,  which  was 


42        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

so  strikingly  displayed  on  that  occasion, 
entered  into  the  following  resolve: 


t  < 


Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  com 
mittee  be  presented  to  Colonel  Hugh  Mer 
cer,  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Battalion 
of  Minute  Men  in  the  District  of  this 
County,  and  the  counties  of  Caroline,  Staf 
ford,  and  King  George ;  expressing  the  high 
sense  of  the  importance  of  his  appointment 
to  that  station,  and  our  acknowledgements 
of  his  public  spirit  in  sacrificing  his  pri 
vate  interest  to  the  service  of  his  Country. 
"ALEXANDER  DICK,  Clerk." 

And  Colonel  Mercer,  at  the  head  of  his 
regiment,  with  his  fife  and  drum,  marched 
away  from  his  adopted  Virginia  home,  bid 
ding  good-by  to  his  wife,  children,  and 
friends — "whom  God  ordained  and  the 
fates  decreed "  he  should  never,  in  this 
world,  see  again. 


CHAPTER  IV 

COLONEL  MERCER  was  ordered  at  once  to 
report  to  Williamsburg — then  the  capital  of 
Virginia — where  there  was  a  considerable 
encampment  of  troops.  A  writer  in  a  very 
old  periodical  gives  us  an  interesting  ac 
count  of  Mercer  while  there,  from  which  we 
quote : 

"The  commencement  of  the  American 
Revolution  found  him  in  the  midst  of  an 
extensive  medical  practice,  surrounded  by 
affectionate  friends,  and  enjoying  in  the 
bosom  of  a  happy  family  all  the  comforts 
of  social  life.  Stimulated  to  action 
by  a  lofty  spirit  of  patriotism,  he 
broke  from  the  endearments  of  do 
mestic  life,  and  gave  to  his  country 
in  that  trying  hour  the  energy  and 
resources  of  a  practiced  and  accomplished 
soldier.  In  1775  he  was  in  command  of 
three  regiments  of  minute  men,  and  early 
in  1776  we  find  him  zealously  engaged,  as 
Colonel  of  the  Army  of  Virginia,  in  drilling 
and  organizing  the  raw  and  ill-formed 
masses  of  men  who,  under  the  varied  names 

43 


44        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

of  sons  of  liberty,  minutemen,  volunteers, 
and  levies,  presented  the  bulk  without  the 
order,  the  mob  without  the  discipline,  of 
an  army.  To  produce  obedience  and  subor 
dination  among  men  who  had  entered 
into  the  war  unpaid  and  unrestricted  by 
command,  was  a  severe  and  invidious 
task. 

The  courage,  the  fortitude,  the  self-pos 
session  of  Colonel  Mercer  quailed  not  at 
these  adverse  circumstances,  and,  by  the 
judicious  exercise  of  mingled  severity  and 
kindness,  he  soon  succeeded  in  reducing  a 
mutinous  soldiery  to  complete  submission. 
Tradition  has  preserved  the  following  an 
ecdote,  illustrating,  in  a  striking  manner, 
his  characteristic  promptitude  and  brav 
ery: 

Among  the  troops  which  arrived  at  Wil- 
liamsburg,  then  the  metropolis  of  Virginia, 
was  a  company  of  riflemen  from  beyond 
the  mountains,  commanded  by  Captain  Gib 
son.  A  reckless  insubordination  and  a  vio 
lent  opposition  to  military  restraint  had 
gained  for  this  corps  the  sarcastic  name  of 
"Gibson's  Lambs. "  They  had  not  been 
long  in  camp  before  a  mutiny  arose  among 
them,  producing  much  excitement  in  the 
army,  and  alarming  the  inhabitants  of  the 
city.  Freed  from  all  command,  they  roamed 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        45 

through  the  camp,  threatening  with  instant 
death  any  officer  who  would  presume  to  ex 
ercise  authority  over  them.  In  the  height 
of  the  rebellion  an  officer  was  dispatched 
with  the  alarming  tidings  to  the  quarters 
of  Colonel  Mercer.  The  citizens  of  the  town 
vainly  implored  him  not  to  risk  his  life  and 
person  amid  this  infuriated  mob. 

Reckless  of  personal  safety,  he  instantly 
repaired  to  the  barracks  of  the  mutinous 
band,  and  directing  a  general  parade  of  the 
troops,  he  ordered  Gibson's  company  to  be 
drawn  up  as  offenders  and  violators  of  law, 
and  to  be  disarmed  in  his  presence.  The 
ringleaders  were  placed  under  a  strong 
guard,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  whole 
army  he  addressed  the  offenders  in  an  elo 
quent  and  feeling  manner,  impressing  on 
them  their  duties  as  citizens  and  soldiers, 
and  the  certainty  of  death  if  they  continued 
to  disobey  their  officers  and  remained  in 
that  mutinous  spirit,  equally  disgraceful  to 
them  and  hazardous  to  the  sacred  interests 
they  had  marched  to  defend.  Disorder  was 
instantly  checked,  and,  after  a  short  con 
finement,  those  under  imprisonment  were 
released ;  the  whole  company  was  ever  after 
as  exemplary  in  deportment  and  conduct  as 
any  troop  in  the  army. 

On  June  5,  1776,  Mercer  was  promoted 


46        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

and  made  a  Brigadier-General  in  the  Con 
tinental  Army,  of  which  the  following  cor 
respondence  gives  evidence: 

"President  of  Congress  to  General  Mer 
cer,  Philadelphia,  June  6,  1776.  Sir:  I 
am  directed  by  Congress  to  inform  you  that 
they  yesterday  appointed  you  a  Brigadier- 
General  in  the  armies  of  the  United  Colo 
nies,  and  that  they  request  you  will  imme 
diately  on  receipt  hereof  set  out  for  head 
quarters  at  New  York;  for  which  purpose 
I  am  commanded  to  forward  you  this  by 
express.  Should  you  take  Philadelphia  in 
your  way,  I  must  beg  you  will  do  me  the 
favor  to  call  at  my  house,  as  it  is  highly 
probable  I  shall  have  something  in  charge 
from  Congress  ready  for  you  at  that  time. 
I  do  myself  the  pleasure  to  enclose  your 
commission;  and  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir, 

"Your  most  obedient  and  very  humble 
servant, 

"  J.  HANCOCK,  President. 

"To  Brigadier-General  Mercer,  Vir 
ginia.  ' ' 


"Williamsburg,  June  15,  1776. 
' l  Sir :    I  had  the  honor  yesterday  to  re 
ceive  your  letter  of  the  6th  inst.,  together 
with  a  commission,  appointing  me  a  Briga- 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        47 

dier- General  in  the  army  of  the  United 
Colonies. 

' '  Give  me  leave,  sir,  to  request  of  you  to 
present  to  the  honorable  Congress  my  most 
grateful  acknowledgements  in  this  distin 
guished  mark  of  their  respect. 

' i  I  was  on  duty  with  part  of  my  regiment 
before  Gwinn's  Island,  where  Lord  Dun- 
more  has  taken  possession,  when  your  in 
structions  reached  me;  in  consequence  of 
this  I  shall  use  my  utmost  diligence,  after 
settling  the  accounts  of  my  regiment,  to 
wait  on  you  in  Philadelphia,  I  have  the 
honor  to  be,  sir, 

i 'Your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

"HUGH  MERCER. 

"To  the  Honorable  John  Hancock,  Es 
quire.  ' ' 

General  Washington  soon  afterward  ap 
pointed  him  to  take  full  command  of  the 
troops  at  Paulus  Hook,  and  charged  him 
with  the  duty  of  directing  the  movement  of 
a  large  detachment  of  Pennsylvania  Militia 
and  of  protecting  that  point  against  a 
threatening  invasion  by  the  enemy  from 
Staten  Island.  The  latter  part  of  the  year 
1776  the  Colonists,  with  bated  breath, 
feared  the  end  of  their  struggle  for  liberty 
had  come.  New  York  and  Rhode  Island 


48        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

had  been  left  in  the  hands  of  the  British. 
Washington  slowly  withdrew  from  New 
Jersey,  stubbornly  disputing  every  effort 
to  bring  on  an  engagement ;  he  crossed  the 
Delaware;  as  the  Royalists  approached  he 
retreated;  at  last  he  took  refuge  beyond 
that  river,  and  for  a  distance  of  many  miles 
he  withdrew  all  the  boats  on  its  shores  to 
its  right  bank,  in  order  to  impede  Cornwal- 
lis  in  case  he  attempted  to  cross.  The  army 
of  the  Colonists  was  poorly  clad,  many  of 
them  barefooted;  without  tents,  with  few 
blankets,  and  very  scantily  fed,  they  were 
confronted  by  Cornwallis  with  a  splendidly 
equipped  army,  well  provisioned  and 
clothed. 

The  British  Hessians  were  then  in  pos 
session  of  Trenton,  and  had  to  a  large  ex 
tent  the  practical  control  of  the  State  of 
New  Jersey.  Sir  William  Howe  boasted 
that  Philadelphia  would  fall  when  the  Del 
aware  became  frozen.  At  this  critical  junc 
ture,  on  Christmas  night,  Washington 
crossed  the  Delaware  amid  a  blinding  storm 
of  snow  and  sleet.  His  passage  became 
much  impeded  by  floating  ice,  but  with  the 
rallying  cry  of  "Victory  or  death, "  he 
executed  that  brilliant  movement  on  De 
cember  26,  at  Trenton,  which  caused 
the  loyal  though  much  depressed  pa- 


The  life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        49 

triots   to  renew  their  fast-wasting  cour 
age. 

By  this  coup-de-main,  Washington  cap 
tured  in  the  battle  fought  in  Trenton  about 
one  thousand  stands  of  arms,  one  thousand 
prisoners,  and  many  stores  of  ammunition, 
with  a  large  amount  of  provisions  and 
clothing.  This,  with  a  bounty  of  ten  dol 
lars  in  gold  to  his  troopers,  restored  fresh 
confidence  in  his  rank  and  file,  and  caused 
the  Continentals  whose  term  of  enlistment 
was  about  to  expire  to  remain  under  the 
new  flag  of  the  Colonists  for  some  weeks 
longer.  For  this  brilliant  victory  histori 
ans,  with  one  accord,  give  credit  and  glory 
to  Mercer.  Major  Armstrong,  his  aide-de 
camp,  who  was  present  at  a  council  of  offi 
cers,  and  who  was  with  Mercer  at  the  cross 
ing  of  the  Delaware,  is  authority  for  the 
statement  that  Mercer  suggested  this  ex 
pedition,  fraught  with  so  much  peril  and 
uncertainty. 

General  Howe,  who  was  amazed  at 
Washington's  intrepid  boldness,  and 
stunned  by  his  great  success,  immediately 
ordered  Cornwallis  by  a  forced  march  to 
stop  this  onward  advance.  About  five  thou 
sand  men  were  pushed  to  Trenton,  while  a 
larger  body  of  men  was  held  in  reserve; 
and  on  January  2d  they  met  the  advance 


50        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

line  of  the  Continental  Army  at  Laurens- 
ville.  The  British  drove  them  back,  and 
about  sunset  of  that  day  reached  Trenton. 
Washington,  having  carefully  guarded  the 
ford  and  bridge,  drew  up  his  army  beyond 
the  Assanpenk.  This  skirmish  caused  a 
great  loss  in  killed  and  wounded,  and  the 
fate  of  the  struggling  Colonies  was  held 
tremblingly  in  the  balance.  Had  Cornwal- 
lis  forced  the  light  that  night  with  his  vastly 
superior  and  much  better  equipped  troops, 
it  is  possible  that  the  fate  of  the  Colonists 
would  have  been  sealed.  He  was  urged  to 
make  the  attack,  but  refused,  giving  as  an 
excuse  the  fatigue  of  his  troops,  saying 
"that  he  had  the  old  fox  just  where  he 
wanted  him,  and  would  catch  him  in  the 
morning,"  a  morning  which  never  came  to 
him,  so  far  as  catching  the  "old  fox"  was 
concerned. 

Washington  was  now  confronted  with 
great  peril.  The  army  of  Cornwallis  in 
front  and  the  Delaware  in  the  rear,  retreat 
was  impossible;  an  open  engagement  was 
nearly  certain  to  result  in  defeat;  and  de 
feat  at  this  pivotal  point  in  the  life  of  the 
Colonies  meant  the  destruction  of  their 
government  and  death  to  their  hope  for 
that  liberty  for  which  they  longed  and  had 
suffered  and  sacrificed  so  much.  At  a  coun- 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        51 

cil  of  war  held  in  General  Mercer's  head 
quarters  that  night,  the  determination  and 
decision  was  reached  to  withdraw  the  Con 
tinental  forces  from  in  front  of  the  enemy 
and  go  around  him  and  attack  the  detach 
ment  then  at  Princeton;  for  by  the  Provi 
dence  of  God,  the  roads  were  made  pass 
able  by  being  frozen,  or  else  such  a  perilous 
expedition  could  not  have  been  accom 
plished. 

The  pickets  of  the  two  armies  were  with 
in  two  hundred  yards  of  one  another,  and 
only  a  small  stream,  called  the  Assanpenk, 
was  between  them.  In  order  to  deceive 
the  enemy,  a  long  line  of  fire  was  kept  up 
in  Washington's  front  while  his  army  was 
slowly  on  its  way  to  Princeton,  and  thus 
deceived,  the  enemy  slept.  The  "old  fox" 
had  escaped,  as  Cornwallis,  much  to  his  dis 
may,  found  in  the  morning. 

A  woman  guided  the  Continental  Army 
on  that  march  beset  with  so  many  perils 
and  difficulties.  A  woman!  Her  loyalty, 
her  devotion,  her  sacrifice,  and  her  suffer 
ings  for  the  cause  of  the  Colony  have  given 
and  shall  ever  give  her  all  honor,  praise, 
and  gratitude. 

Washington  passed  safely  around  the 
post  of  General  Leslie  at  Maidenhead,  but 
his  progress  was  so  slow  that  it  was  sun- 


52        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

rise  when  he  reached  Stonybrook,  about 
two  miles  from  Princeton.  He  formed  his 
column  at  the  Quaker  meeting  house,  which 
is  still  well  preserved,  at  Princeton.  The 
van  and  rearguard  was  composed  of  Con 
tinental  soldiers  who  had  bared  their 
breasts  to  many  a  storm  of  shot  and  shell ; 
the  center  was  composed  of  troops  who 
were  first  baptized  with  fire  at  Trenton. 
Washington  ordered  forward  a  detachment 
of  about  four  hundred  men  under  Mercer, 
consisting  of  the  First  Virginia  Kegiment, 
Sham  wood 's  Regiment  from  Maryland,  and 
Colonel  Haslett's  Delaware  Regiments, 
with  NeaPs  Battery,  to  seize  a  bridge  at 
Worth's  Mill.  This  detachment  marched 
to  the  left  from  the  road  that  leads  along 
the  brook,  while  Washington  took  a  by-road 
to  the  right,  in  the  rear  of  the  Clark  house ; 
this  road  led  directly  to  Princeton. 

The  Seventeenth,  the  Fortieth,  and  the 
Fifty-fifth  British  regiments,  and  three 
troops  of  Dragoons,  had  slept  that  night  at 
Princeton,  and  had  already  begun  their 
march  to  Trenton.  The  night  had  been 
dark  and  dreary,  and  the  morning  was  se 
verely  cold ;  the  Seventeenth  Kegiment  hav 
ing  crossed  the  bridge,  occupied  a  hill  be 
yond  it. 

Mercer's  presence  was  revealed  at  day- 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        53 

break,  and  Mawhood  at  once  counter 
marched  his  regiment  and  crossed  the 
bridge  at  Worth 's  Mill  before  Mercer  could 
reach  it,  each  side  being  surprised  by  the 
presence  of  the  other.  Each  army  tried  to 
gain  the  high  ground  west  of  Clark's  house. 
The  Colonists  reached  it  first,  and  from  be 
hind  a  worm  fence  opened  fire,  which  was 
quickly  responded  to  by  the  British. 

The  British  troops  charged  after  the 
third  volley,  and  the  Colonists  were  driven 
back  in  disorder  before  a  bayonet  charge 
from  a  force  vastly  superior  in  numbers. 
At  this  point  General  Mercer  dismounted 
from  his  horse,  which  had  been  disabled, 
and  tried  vainly  to  rally  his  men;  while  he 
was  doing  so,  he  was  knocked  down  by  the 
butt-end  of  a  musket  in  the  hand  of  a  Brit 
ish  trooper,  who  demanded  that  he  should 
surrender,  which  he  refused  to  do.  He  was 
then  bayoneted  and  left  for  dead  on  the 
battle-field.  (This  spot  has  been  marked 
by  the  erection  of  a  white  pillar.) 

As  soon  as  Washington  heard  this  firing, 
he  ordered  forward  the  Pennsylvania  Mi 
litia  and  Moulder's  Battery  to  the  assist 
ance  of  Mercer ;  thus  reinforced,  the  flight 
of  the  Continentals  was  stopped,  and  the 
British  were  made  to  halt  in  their  pursuit. 
At  this  critical  moment  Washington  ap- 


54        The  Life  of  General  Hugh.  Mercer 

peared  in  person,  and  taking  in  the  situa 
tion  of  affairs  at  a  glance,  he  waved  his  hat 
and  cheered  on  his  troops.  Washington 
was  now  between  the  firing  lines  of  both  ar 
mies,  and  was  in  great  danger  and  great 
peril.  Moulder's  Battery  poured  volley  af 
ter  volley  into  the  ranks  of  the  enemy,  and 
the  roar  of  musketry  followed,  as  the  brave 
Rhode  Islanders  and  the  Virginia  Seventh 
swung,  with  other  Continentals,  into  line, 
causing  the  enemy  to  break  and  fly,  fol 
lowed  by  victorious  shouts  from  the  Amer 
ican  Army. 

As  the  smoke  of  battle  cleared  away,  it 
revealed  Washington  unharmed.  Colonel 
Fitzgerald,  his  aide-de-camp,  galloped  to 
his  side  and  said,  * '  Thank  God,  your  excel 
lency  is  safe!"  Washington  replied, 
"Away,  my  dear  Colonel,  and  bring  up  the 
troops ;  the  day  is  our  own. ' ' 

The  rout  of  the  British  was  complete. 
Mawhood  escaped  with  some  of  his  scat 
tered  and  shattered  troops  to  Maidenhead. 
Some  fled  up  Stonybrook ;  many  were  cap 
tured  by  a  body  of  cavalry  from  Philadel 
phia. 

General  St.  Clair  met  on  this  retreat  the 
Fifty-fifth  Regiment  of  British  soldiers  and 
quickly  put  them  to  flight ;  a  portion  of  the 
Fortieth  Regiment,  which  had  not  been  in 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        55 

the  engagement,  took  refuge  in  Nassau 
Hall,  Princeton,  and  were  captured. 

And  thus  on  the  morning  of  January  3, 
1777,  the  Battle  of  Princeton,  which  was  of 
short  duration,  but  momentous  of  great  re 
sults,  was  fought  and  won;  and  the  shout 
of  victory  that  commenced  there  was  not 
hushed  until  at  Yorktown  the  end  came — 
an  end  which  marks  the  beginning  of  our 
Eepublic,  which  is  to-day  the  wonder  of  the 
world. 

It  is  needless  and  unnecessary  in  this  bi 
ography  of  General  Mercer  to  recount  the 
further  movements,  marches,  and  counter 
marches  of  Washington  and  his  army.  In 
this  battle  General  Mercer,  "who  seems  to 
have  excited  the  brutality  of  the  British  by 
the  gallantry  of  his  resistance, "  was 
stabbed  by  their  bayonets  in  seven  different 
parts  of  his  body,  and  they  inflicted  on  his 
head  many  blows  with  the  butt-end  of  their 
muskets,  only  ceasing  this  butchery  when 
they  believed  him  dead. 

As  soon  after  the  battle  as  possible,  Gen 
eral  Mercer  was  removed  to  an  adjacent 
farmhouse,  owned  by  Mr.  Clark,  where 
Mrs.  Clark  and  her  daughter  tenderly 
nursed  him,  being  assisted  by  Major  Lewis, 
who  was  delegated  by  General  Washington 
to  go  there  for  that  purpose.  Dr.  Bush,  of 


56        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

Philadelphia,  and  Dr.  Archibald  Alexan 
der,  of  Augusta  County,  Virginia,  who  was 
then  a  surgeon  of  the  Virginia  troops,  were 
at  Mercer's  bedside  doing  everything  pos 
sible  to  alleviate  his  sufferings,  which  were 
intense  and  acute.  Their  services  and  min 
istrations  were  without  avail,  for  on  Janu 
ary  12,  1777,  he  died  in  the  arms  of  Major 
Lewis.  The  angel  of  death  wooed  him  to  a 
brighter  and  better  land,  and  the  recording 
angel  wrote  in  the  great  book,  "Well 
done." 

He  had  willingly  sacrificed  his  life  for  the 
liberties  of  the  people  of  his  adopted  land. 

"For  whether  on  the  scaffold  high, 

Or  in  the  battle 's  van, 
The  noblest  death  that  man  can  die 
Is  when  he  dies  for  man. ' ' 


CHAPTER  V 

DESIRING  to  give  the  full  benefit  of  what 
others  thought  and  said  of  General  Mercer 
and  the  great  value  of  his  services  to  the 
struggling  Colonies,  it  cannot  be  thought 
inappropriate  for  me  to  reproduce  here 
what  has  already  been  written  of  him,  es 
pecially  by  those  who  were  near  him  in  the 
times  of  which  they  wrote.  Among  those 
was  General  James  Wilkinson,  who  says : 

"The  first  fire  was  delivered  by  General 
Mercer,  which  the  enemy  returned  with  a 
volley  and  a  sudden  charge;  many  of  our 
men  being  armed  with  rifles,  were  forced, 
after  the  third  round,  to  abandon  the  fence, 
and  fled  in  disorder.  On  hearing  the  fire, 
General  Washington  directed  the  Pennsyl 
vania  Militia  to  support  General  Mercer, 
and  in  person  led  them  on,  with  two  pieces 
of  artillery  under  Capt.  Wm.  Moulder,  of 
the  city  of  Philadelphia,  who  formed  a  bat 
tery  on  the  right  of  Thomas  Clark's  house; 
the  enemy  pursued  the  detachment  of  Gen 
eral  Mercer  as  far  as  the  brow  of  the  de 
clivity,  etc.  At  the  time  General  Mercer  en- 

57 


58        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

gaged  the  Seventeenth  Eegiment,  under 
Colonel  Hand,  and  endeavored  by  a  right 
movement  to  turn  the  enemy's  left  flank, 
etc." 

In  this  affair  our  numerical  loss  was  in 
considerable — it  did  not  exceed  30,  and  only 
14  were  buried  in  the  field;  but  it  was  of 
great  magnitude  in  worth  and  talents. 
Colonels  Haslett  and  Porter,  Major  Morris, 
and  Capt.  Wm.  Shippen  were  respected  in 
their  corps;  Captains  Fleming  and  Neal 
presented  fair  promise  of  professional  ex 
cellence  ;  but  in  General  Mercer  was  lost  a 
chief  who,  for  education,  experience,  tal 
ents,  disposition,  integrity  and  patriotism, 
was  second  to  no  man  but  the  Commander- 
in-Chief ,  and  was  qualified  to  fill  the  highest 
trusts  of  the  country.  The  manner  in  which 
he  was  wounded  is  an  evidence  of  the  ex 
cess  to  which  the  common  soldiery  are  li 
able  in  the  heat  of  action,  especially  when 
irritated  by  the  loss  of  favorite  officers.  His 
way  being  obstructed,  when  advancing,  by 
a  post  and  rail  fence  in  front  of  the  or 
chard,  it  may  be  presumed  that  the  General 
dismounted  voluntarily,  for  he  was  on  foot 
when  the  troops  in  the  front  hesitated,  be 
came  confused,  and  soon  gave  way,  while 
the  few  regulars  in  the  rear  could  not 
check  the  dastardlv  retreat.  Ere  the  for- 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        59 

tune  of  the  day  was  changed  and  victory 
perched  on  the  patriot  standard,  the  heroic 
Mercer  fell.  Bushing  forward  to  rally  his 
broken  troops,  and  stimulating  them  by 
voice  and  example,  his  horse  was  shot  from 
under  him,  and  he  fell,  dangerously  wound 
ed,  among  the  columns  of  the  advancing 
enemy.  Being  thus  dismounted,  he  was  in 
stantly  surrounded  by  a  number  of  British 
soldiers,  with  whom,  when  they  refused  him 
quarter,  he  fought  desperately  with  drawn 
sword  until  he  was  completely  overpow 
ered.  Excited  to  brutality  by  the  gallantry 
of  his  resistance,  they  stabbed  him  with 
their  bayonets  in  seven  different  parts  of 
his  body,  and  inflicted  many  blows  on  his 
head  with  the  butt-ends  of  their  muskets; 
nor  did  they  cease  their  butchery  until  they 
believed  him  to  be  a  crushed  and  mangled 
corpse.  Nine  days  after  the  battle,  he  died 
in  the  arms  of  Major  George  Lewis,  of  the 
army,  the  nephew  of  General  Washington, 
whom  the  uncle  had  commissioned  to  watch 
over  the  last  moments  of  his  expiring 
friend.  His  latter  hours  were  soothed  by 
the  skillful  and  affectionate  attendance  of 
the  distinguished  Dr.  Eush.  He  complained 
much  of  his  head,  and  frequently  remarked 
to  his  surgeon  that  "there  was  the  princi 
pal  danger/ '  and  Dr.  Eush,  in  speaking  of 


60        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

his  patient's  suffering,  always  ascribed  his 
death  more  to  the  blows  on  the  head  than 
to  the  bayonet  wounds,  although  several  of 
these  were  attended  with  extreme  danger. 

In  a  small  house  not  far  distant  from  the 
blood-red  plain  of  carnage  and  death,  but 
far  away  from  the  soothing  consolations  of 
domestic  affection,  this  distinguished  mar 
tyr  of  liberty  breathed  his  last. 

The  mangled  body  was  removed  under  a 
military  escort  from  Princeton  to  Phila 
delphia,  and  exposed  a  day  in  the  Coffee 
house,  with  the  idea  of  exciting  by  that 
mournful  spectacle  the  indignation  of  the 
people.  The  Pennsylvania  Evening  Post 
for  January  18,  1777,  has  thus  recorded  his 
death  and  funeral  obsequies:  "Last  Sun 
day  evening,  died,  near  Princeton,  of  the 
wounds  he  received  in  the  engagement  at 
that  place  on  the  3rd  instant,  Hugh  Mercer, 
Esquire,  Brigadier-General  in  the  Conti 
nental  Army.  On  Wednesday  his  body  was 
brought  to  this  city,  and  on  Thursday  bur 
ied  on  the  south  side  of  Christ  Church, 
with  military  honors,  attended  by  the  Com 
mittee  of  Safety,  the  members  of  the  As 
sembly,  gentlemen  of  the  army,  and  a  num 
ber  of  the  most  respectable  inhabitants  of 
this  city.  The  uniform  character,  exalted 
abilities,  and  intrepidity  of  this  illustrious 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        61 

officer  will  render  his  name  equally  dear  to 
America,  with  the  liberty  for  which  she  is 
now  contending,  to  the  latest  posterity. ' ' 

The  battles  of  Trenton  and  Princeton,  in 
which  General  Mercer  fought  and  bled  unto 
death,  were  the  most  brilliant  and  fortunate 
victories  won  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution. 
The  question  of  our  independence  was  now 
no  longer  a  matter  of  doubt.  General  Mer 
cer's  elevated  character,  lofty  heroism,  and 
brutal  murder  excited  a  deep  and  affection 
ate  sympathy  throughout  all  the  Colonies. 
General  Washington,  in  an  official  letter  to 
the  Continental  Congress,  thus  alluded  to 
Generals  Mercer  and  Warren,  Congress 
having,  on  April  7,  1777,  resolved  that  a 
monument  should  be  erected  at  Boston  to 
the  memory  of  General  Warren,  and  one  at 
Fredericksburg  to  General  Mercer : 

i 'The  honors  Congress  has  decreed  to 
the  memory  of  Generals  Warren  and  Mer 
cer  afford  me  the  highest  pleasure.  Their 
character  and  fortitude  had  a  just  claim 
to  every  mark  of  respect,  and  I  heartily 
wish  that  every  officer  of  the  United  States, 
emulating  their  virtues,  may  by  their  ac 
tions  secure  to  themselves  the  same  right  to 
the  grateful  tributes  of  their  country.'7 

On  January  15,  1777,  Washington  wrote 
to  Mr.  Joseph  Reed: 


62        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

"When  you  see  General  Mercer,  be  so 
good  as  to  present  my  best  wishes  to  him— 
and  congratulations  (if  the  state  of  his 
health  will  admit  of  it)  on  his  recovery 
from  death.  You  may  assure  him  that 
nothing  but  the  confident  assertion  to  me 
that  he  was  either  dead,  or  within  a  few 
minutes  of  dying,  and  that  he  was  put  into 
as  good  a  place  as  I  could  remove  him  to, 
prevented  his  seeing  me  after  the  action 
and  pursuit  at  Princeton." 

When  that  letter  was  written  the  hero 
of  Princeton  had  passed  to  the  Great  Be 
yond.  A  farther  evidence  and  expression 
of  the  high  estimation  in  which  General 
Mercer  was  held  by  Washington  is  found 
in  a  letter  from  the  latter  to  General  Liv 
ingston,  dated  from  headquarters,  July  6, 
1776,  5  o  'clock  p.  M.,  in  which  he  wrote : 

* '  General  Mercer  has  just  set  off  for  Jer 
sey.  In  his  experience  and  judgment  you 
may  repose  great  confidence.  He  will  pro 
ceed  to  Amboy  after  conferring  with  you. 
You  will  please  to  keep  me  constantly  in 
formed  of  the  proceedings  of  the  enemy, 
and  be  assured  of  every  assistance  and  at 
tention.  ' ' 

In  the  Journal  of  the  Continental  Con 
gress  for  June  3  and  July  19,  1776, 
what  was  known  as  the  Flying  Camp  was 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        63 

constituted  of  ten  thousand  men,  to  be  put 
under  the  command  of  such  a  Continental 
officer  as  General  Washington  should  di 
rect,  and  by  his  direction  they  assembled 
at  Amboy,  New  Jersey,  under  the  command 
of  General  Mercer. 

General  Washington,  in  another  letter  to 
General  Livingston,  of  date  July  5,  1776, 
referring  to  Mercer  said:  "His  judgment 
and  experience  may  be  depended  on ; "  and 
on  January  5,  1777,  in  his  official  report  to 
Congress,  of  the  Battle  of  Princeton,  after 
describing  the  battle  and  the  capture  of 
prisoners,  etc.,  he  said:  "This  piece  of 
good  fortune  is  counterbalanced  by  the  loss 
of  the  brave  and  worthy  General  Mercer." 

Nothing  is  needed  further  to  show  how 
the  great  Washington  regarded  Hugh  Mer 
cer,  and  to  this  I  will  add  what  was  said  of 
him  by  Lafayette  on  his  last  visit  to  this 
country. 

The  conversation  in  a  brilliant  company 
turning  on  the  prominent  men  of  the  Bevo- 
lution,  one  of  the  company  observed  to  him 
that  he,  General  Lafayette,  was,  of  course, 
acquainted  with  General  Mercer,  not  recol 
lecting  that  Lafayette  did  not  arrive  in  the 
United  States  until  after  the  Battle  of 
Princeton.  "Oh,  no,"  said  the  General, 
"you  know  that  Mercer  fell  in  January, 


64        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

1777,  and  I  reached  the  United  States  in 
the  ensuing  spring;  but  on  my  arrival  I 
found  the  army  and  whole  country  so  full 
of  his  name  that  an  impression  has  been 
always  left  on  my  mind  since  that  I  was 
personally  acquainted  with  him." 

At  Princeton  the  high  tide  of  the  Revolu 
tion  was  reached.  Before  then,  gloom  had 
settled  on  the  cause  of  the  Colonies.  The 
Tories,  with  their  "I  told  you  so,"  pre 
dicted  and  prophesied  a  humiliating  defeat, 
and  the  loyal  Colonists  began  to  doubt  and 
despair.  After  that  battle  the  bright  sun 
shine  of  hope  settled  on  this  fair  land  of 
ours,  and  from  that  point  the  army  of 
Washington  fought  to  conquer ;  for  the  vic 
tory  of  Princeton  not  only  encouraged  the 
doubting  and  despairing  rebels,  as  the  Col 
onists  were  called,  but  it  brought  to  them 
the  recognition  and  alliance  of  France. 
That  victory,  however,  was  dearly  gained, 
for  amidst  the  exultant  charge  of  our  vic 
torious  legions  could  be  heard  the  dying 
groans  of  that  pure  patriot — the  brave  and 
gallant  Mercer. 

"What  death  could  finer  laurel  buy? 

What  grander  ending  can  there  be 
Than  for  a  noble  man  to  die 

To  help  to  make  his  country  free? 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        65 

Although  the  day  was  dearly  bought, 
'Twas  there   the  Tyrant's    doom   was 
sealed, 

And  not  in  vain  the  fight  was  fought 
When  Mercer  fell  on  Princeton  Field. 

His  sword  will  waste  away  with  rust, 

And  tho'  'twere   wrapped   in  cloth  of 

gold, 
Within  the  grave  his  precious  dust 

In  time  will  mingle  with  the  mold  ; 
But  he,  himself,  is  canonized, 

If  saintly  deeds  such  fame  can  give, 
For  long  as  Liberty  is  prized 

HUGH   MERCER'S    NAME   SHALL   SURELY 
LIVE." 


CHAPTER  VI 

i 

ON  JANUARY  31,  1777,  the  Continental 
Congress  passed  the  following  resolution: 
1 '  That  a  committee  of  four  be  appointed  to 
consider  what  honors  are  due  to  the  mem 
ory  of  General  Mercer,  who  died  on  the 
12th  instant,  of  wounds  received  on  the  3d 
of  the  same  month,  in  fighting  against  the 
enemies  of  American  liberty,  near  Prince 
ton.  ' '  The  members  of  that  committee  were 
the  Hon.  Messrs.  Rush,  Heynard,  Page,  and 
S.  Adams.  On  April  8,  1777,  that  com 
mittee  reported  "That  a  monument  be 
erected  to  the  memory  of  General  Mercer 
at  Fredericksburg,  in  the  State  of  Virginia, 
with  the  following  inscription: 

66 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        67 

Sacred  to  the  memory  of 

HUGH  MERGER, 
Brigadier-General  in  the  Army  of 

The  United  States. 

He  died  on  the  12th  of  January,  1777, 
of  the  wounds  he  received  on  the 

3rd  of  the  same  month, 

Near  Princeton,  in  New  Jersey, 

Bravely  defending  the 

Liberties  of  America. 

The  Congress  of  the  United  States, 

In  testimony  of  his  virtues  and  their 

gratitude, 
Have  caused  this  monument  to  be  erected. ' ' 

The  report  of  the  committee  was,  how 
ever,  never  executed.  Under  that  resolu 
tion  no  monument  was  ever  built;  why,  no 
one  knows.  Nations,  like  some  individuals, 
soon  forget.  For  more  than  a  century  did 
this  Republic  fail  in  its  duty  to  the  memory 
of  the  gallant  Mercer.  At  last  the  con 
science,  as  well  as  the  sense  of  justice,  of 
the  nation  was  aroused.  Hence  by  an  act 
of  Congress,  approved  June  28,  1902,  the 
resolution  of  1777  was  directed  by  Congress 
to  be  carried  into  effect,  and  at  Fredericks- 
burg,  in  the  State  of  Virginia,  there  has 
been  a  monument  erected  to  perpetuate  the 
fame  and  name  of  Hugh  Mercer.  And  it 


68        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

is  well,  "lest  we  forget,  lest  we  forget." 
The  same  epitaph  is  engraved  on  this  mon 
ument  that  was  prescribed  in  the  resolu 
tions  of  1777.  The  City  of  Philadelphia 
paid  the  memory  of  Mercer  a  great  tribute 
by  giving  his  remains  a  public  funeral, 
which  it  is  said  30,000  people  attended.  He 
was  buried  in  the  graveyard  of  Christ 
Church.  In  1817  his  son  visited  his  grave ; 
the  old  sexton — a  Mr.  Dolley — who  had  at 
tended  the  funeral  of  the  General,  was 
there  alone.  Under  the  grass  on  the  south 
side  of  the  brick  enclosure  was  found  a 
plain  and  unadorned  marble  slab,  inscribed 
' '  Gl.  M.  In  memory  of  Gen  '1  Hugh  Mercer, 
who  fell  at  Princeton,  January  3rd,  1777." 
The  St.  Andrew's  Society  afterward  re 
moved  his  remains  to  the  Laurel  Hill  Ceme 
tery  and  erected  a  monument  to  his  mem 
ory,  which  was  dedicated  with  imposing 
ceremonies  on  Thursday,  November  26, 
1840;  on  which  occasion  Wm.  B.  Reed, 
Esq.,  grandson  of  Adjutant-General  Reed, 
of  the  Revolution,  delivered  a  beautiful  ad 
dress.  General  Mercer  had  joined  the  St. 
Andrew's  Society  in  Philadelphia,  in  1757. 
On  the  front  die  of  this  monument,  etc.,  is 
the  following  inscription: 


The  Monument  to  Gen.  Hugh  Mercer  at  Fredericksburg,  Va. 


OPPOSITE     P.     6< 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        69 

Dedicated  to  the  memory  of 
GENERAL  HUGH  MERCER, 

Who  fell 
For  the  sacred  cause 

of 
Human  Liberty 

and 
American  Independence, 

in 

The  Battle  of  Princeton. 

He  poured  out  his  blood  for  a  generous 

principle. 

Left-hand  side  of  die : 

The  St.  Andrew's  Society 

of  Philadelphia 
Offer  this  humble  tribute 

To  the  memory  of 
An  illustrious  brother. 
When  a  grateful  posterity  shall  bid  the 
trophied  Memorial  rise  to  the  martyrs  who 
sealed  with  their  blood  the  Charter  of  an 
Empire  7s  Liberties,  there  shall  not  be  want 
ing  a  monument  to  him  whom 

Washington 

Mourned  as  "The  Worthy  and  Brave 
MERCER." 


70        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 
Eight-hand  side  of  die : 

General  Mercer,  a  physician  of  Freder- 
icksburg,  in  Virginia,  was  distinguished  for 
his  skill  and  learning,  his  gentleness  and 
decision,  his  refinement  and  humanity,  his 
elevated  honour  and  his  devotion  to  the 
great  cause  of  civil  and  religious  liberty. 

In  the  historical  paintings  of  the  Battle 
of  Princeton  by  Peale,  at  Princeton,  and  by 
Trumbull  at  New  York,  General  Mercer  is 
given  a  prominent  position.  And  the  states 
of  Pennsylvania,  Kentucky,  Virginia,  and 
New  Jersey,  have  by  solemn  and  appropri 
ate  acts  of  their  respective  Legislatures, 
named  a  county  "  Mercer "  in  his  honor. 
On  October  1,  1897,  a  bronze  tablet  was 
unveiled  in  Princeton,  bearing  this  inscrip 
tion  : 

"To  the  memory  of  General  Hugh  Mer 
cer,  the  revered  martyr  of  American  Inde 
pendence.  Born  in  Scotland  in  1720;  edu 
cated  as  a  physician ;  emigrated  to  America 
in  1747;  was  appointed  by  Congress,  June 
5th,  1776,  a  Brigadier-General  in  the  Amer 
ican  Army;  was  mortally  wounded  at  the 
Battle  of  Princeton,  January  3rd,  1777 ;  and 
died  in  the  house  now  standing  near  this 
spot  January  12th,  1777.  This  tablet  was 


The  Grave  of  General  Mercer  in  Laurel  Hill  Cemetery, 

Philadelphia,  Pa.,  with  Monument  Erected 

by  St.  Andrew's  Society 


OPPOSITE     P.     7O 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        71 

erected  by  the  Mercer  Engine  Company  No. 
3  of  Princeton,  N.  J.,  October  1st,  1897,  at 
the  semi-centennial  celebration. " 

On  this  occasion  Judge  Beverly  E.  Well- 
ford,  of  Richmond,  Va.,  and  Dr.  Henry  C. 
Cameron,  of  Princeton,  made  eloquent  and 
appropriate  historical  orations. 

In  November,  1899,  the  Hon.  Henry  W. 
Green,  of  Trenton,  N.  J.,  presented  a  hand 
some  portrait  of  General  Mercer  to  the 
Mercersburg  Academy  of  Pennsylvania; 
and  in  doing  so,  among  other  things,  said : 

"His  life  record  shows  him  as  a  soldier, 
brave  and  courageous;  as  a  physician, 
learned  in  his  profession ;  as  a  scholar,  well 
read  and  of  generous  attainments ;  as  a  pa 
triot,  pure  and  impulsive;  as  a  Christian, 
self-sacrificing  and  true.  Few  lives  illume 
the  page  of  national  history  with  kindlier 
glow  than  that  of  Mercer.  Fortunate  the 
town  with  such  a  namesake;  honored  the 
school  that  bears  his  name ;  glorified  the  na 
tion  in  whose  cause  he  laid  down  that  most 
precious  of  his  possessions — his  life." 

Hugh  Mercer  was  an  alumnus  of  Mar- 
schal  College  and  the  University  of  Aber 
deen,  Scotland,  and  this  university  recog 
nizes  him  as  one  of  its  most  illustrious  stu 
dents.  In  its  annual  list  of  honored  alumni, 
he  is  one  of  the  three  chosen  to  represent 


72         The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

the  profession  of  arms ;  the  other  two  being 
Field-Marshal  James  Keith,  the  distin 
guished  officer  in  the  service  of  Frederick 
the  Great,  and  Sir  James  Outram,  the 
"  Bayard  of  India, " 

Congress,  on  motion  of  Thomas  Jeffer 
son,  in  1784  made  an  appropriation  for  the 
education  of  General  Mercer's  youngest 
son,  Hugh,  who  died  at  his  residence,  "The 
Sentry  Box,"  December  2,  1853.  Another 
son,  John,  a  distinguished  lawyer,  died 
September  30,  1817;  and  his  only  daugh 
ter,  Anna  Gordon,  who  married  Eobert  Pat- 
ton,  died  in  Fredericksburg,  Va,,  May  12, 
1832.  General  Hugh  W.  Mercer,  of  Savan 
nah,  Ga.,  a  gallant  officer  in  the  Confeder 
ate  Army,  was  a  grandson  of  General  Mer 
cer,  and  the  late  John  M.  Patton,  another 
grandson,  was  a  member  of  Congress  from 
the  Fredericksburg  District  under  Jack 
son's  administration,  and  was  acting-Gov 
ernor  of  Virginia  in  1840. 

Now  as  the  end  of  the  story  of  the  life 
of  Hugh  Mercer  in  this  work  approaches, 
by  way  of  recapitulation  it  behooves  us  to 
ask,  What  were  the  most  attractive  and  po 
tential  elements  of  that  life?  We  would 
say,  Fidelity  to  principle,  fixedness  of  pur 
pose,  faithfulness  in  the  discharge  of  the 
obligations  imposed  by  citizenship,  with  a 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        73 

fearlessness  that  knew  no  limitation  when 
duty  and  obligation  joined  in  demanding 
energetic  action.  To  realize  that  this  is 
true,  the  reader  need  only  be  reminded  of 
what  was  accomplished  by  Mercer,  and  how 
that  accomplishment  was  brought  about. 
We  find  him  at  Culloden  obeying  every  in 
spiration  of  loyalty  to  Scotland  and  Scot 
tish  traditions  when  he  championed  the 
cause  of  the  Pretender.  To  have  done  oth 
erwise  would  have  been  contrary  to  every 
dictate  of  duty  as  it  was  impressed  on  Scot 
land  itself.  When  he  became  a  resident  of 
America,  on  the  frontier  of  Pennsylvania, 
he  felt  himself  obliged  by  the  very  highest 
and  holiest  obligations  of  citizenship  to  im 
peril  his  life  in  many  Indian  wars  in  order 
to  preserve  the  lives  and  protect  the  homes 
of  the  people  among  whom  he  lived.  When 
the  tocsin  of  war  sounded,  and  the  Colo 
nies  "struck  for  liberty"  and  for  freedom 
from  the  intolerable  and  tyrannical  aggres 
sions  of  Great  Britain,  being  impressed 
with  the  right  and  righteousness  of  the 
cause  of  the  Colonies,  he  at  once  offered  his 
services  in  their  behalf,  gave  up  his  life  for 
the  cause  which  he  espoused,  and  died  that 
liberty  might  live. 

His  life  was  a  strenuous  one,  full  of  ex 
acting  and  unselfish  work  for  others :  As  a 


74        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

country  doctor,  ministering  to  the  sick  and 
comforting  the  suffering;  as  a  Mason, 
teaching  by  precept  and  by  example  the 
cardinal  doctrines  of  the  craft,  the  father 
hood  of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of  man ; 
as  a  member  of  the  church,  expressing  by 
his  walk  and  conversation  the  faith  he  felt 
in  the  Savior  of  men,  whom  he  humbly  fol 
lowed  ;  as  the  head  of  his  home,  in  the  God- 
given  capacity  of  husband  and  father,  ever 
directing  its  affairs  and  executing  its  du 
ties,  making  his  home  life  spotless  and 
stainless ;  as  a  citizen,  evading  no  obligation 
and  avoiding  no  demand  imposed  upon  that 
citizenship.  He  was  a  soldier  always,  vigi 
lant,  obedient  and  loyal;  an  officer  whose 
tactics  were  of  the  onward,  never  backward 
order,  counselling  against  evacuation  of 
strategic  positions,  even  though  it  seemed 
impossible  to  retain  them,  with  judgment 
that  could  be  always  relied  on,  said  the 
great  Washington.  When  confronted  by 
seemingly  insurmountable  obstacles,  he 
suggested  movements  by  which  superiority 
in  numbers  could  be  overridden  by  superi 
ority  in  forethought  and  decisive  action.  He 
was  brave  without  being  desperate ;  he  was 
a  good  disciplinarian  without  being  a  mar 
tinet.  In  his  vocabulary  there  was  no  such 
word  as  ' '  surrender. ' '  He  was  willing  ' t  to 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        75 

do,  dare  or  die' '  for  the  flag  under  which  he 
enlisted ;  he  unsheathed  his  sword  in  honor, 
and  never  was  it  dishonored  to  his  dying 
day ;  he  was  the  hero  of  Princeton,  with  no 
one  to  pluck  that  laurel  from  his  brow,  and 
is  entitled  to  the  glory  that  came  from  that 
victory  which  resulted  in  a  Confederation 
of  States  that  has  made  the  Western  Hem 
isphere  the  admiration  and  the  wonder  of 
the  world.  He  is  entitled  to  the  gratitude 
of  all  liberty-loving  America.  His  life  was 
beautiful  and  complete  in  its  symmetry, 
and  was  both  a  benediction  and  benefac 
tion.  The  memory  of  such  a  man  cannot 
perish  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  but  shall 
be  as  eternal  as  Truth. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THIS  narrative  would  not  be  complete 
without  a  short  story  of  the  friends  of 
Hugh  Mercer  at  Fredericksburg — his  daily 
associates,  who  communed  with  him  at  the 
sessions  of  the  Masonic  Lodge;  who  sat 
Around  the  old  open  fireplace  at  the  Eising 
Sun  tavern  and  talked  with  him  about  the 
gossip  of  the  town ;  who  watched  and  waited 
with  him,  in  front  of  the  post-office,  for  the 
coming  of  the  rumbling,  rattling  old  stage 
with  its  weekly  mail  and  its  belated  news 
from  Williamsburg.  It  is  not,  however,  my 
purpose  to  write  a  biography  of  these  peo 
ple,  but  only  a  short  sketch  of  them  as  their 
lives  touched  that  of  Mercer 's,  and  as  these 
distinguished  people  were  connected  and 
associated  with  Fredericksburg;  and,  as 
Washington  stands  in  the  forefront  of  this 
nation's  life,  so  he  stands,  peerless  and 
high  above  all  others,  in  the  life  of  this 
town. 

76 


•      -    •      •    •  * 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        77 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

He  who  was  "  first  in  war,  first  in 
peace,  and  first  in  the  hearts  of  his  country 
men"  was  a  very  small  boy  when  his 
father,  Augustine  Washington,  died  on  his 
place,  since  called  "The  Washington 
Farm,"  opposite  Fredericksburg.  He  went 
to  school  in  that  town,  and  in  after-life 
referred  to  it  as  the  town  of  his  youth  and 
maturing  manhood.  Just  before  the  com 
mencement  of  the  Revolution,  his  mother 
and  her  family  moved  into  the  town.  Wash 
ington,  in  his  maturer  years,  visited  his 
mother  there  frequently.  He  and  his  bride, 
en  route  from  Williamsburg  to  Mount  Ver- 
non,  came  by  Fredericksburg  to  receive,  no 
doubt,  his  mother's  blessing  and  benedic 
tion.  He  was  the  owner  of  several  lots  in 
the  town.  After  the  surrender  of  Cornwal- 
lis  at  Yorktown,  Washington,  impelled  by 
the  love  and  adoration  which  he  had  for 
her,  determined  that  his  first  visit  should 
be  to  his  mother  at  Fredericksburg,  and  he 
came  to  her  without  delay.  On  that  visit 
he  was  received  with  expressions  of  joy 
and  gratitude  by  the  people  of  the  place, 
and  was  presented  with  an  address  of  wel- 
came  and  congratulations  by  the  Town 
Council.  On  that  occasion  a  grand  ball  was 


78        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

given  in  his  honor,  which  he  attended,  ac 
companied  by  Lafayette  and  other  distin 
guished  officers.  In  those  days  the  ball  com 
menced  at  early  candle-light.  His  aged 
mother,  whom  he  escorted,  left  at  nine 
o'clock.  After  seeing  her  safely  home,  he 
returned  and  danced  the  stately  minuet 
with  one  of  the  Gregory  girls,  who  was  his 
cousin. 

Washington  was  a  member  of  Lodge  No. 
4,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  the  records  of  which 
lodge  show  that  he  was  made  a  Mason  No 
vember,  1752.  On  that  date  there  was  re 
ceived  from  George  Washington,  for  his 
entrance  fee,  two  pounds  and  five  shillings. 

When  in  Fredericksburg  he  attended  the 
services  of  St.  George's  Episcopal  Church. 
It  is  related  that  on  one  of  his  visits  after 
he  had  become  great  and  famous,  while  at 
tending  the  services  of  this  church,  it  be 
came  overcrowded,  that  the  old  frame 
building  gave  evidences  of  being  unsafe, 
and  that  a  panic  was  only  averted  by  the 
coolness  of  Washington  himself. 

His  only  sister,  Bettie,  who  married 
Fielding  Lewis,  lived  at  a  place  called 
"Kenmore,"  then  on  the  outskirts  of  the 
town. 

Parson  Weems  locates  Fredericksburg  as 
the  place  where  the  great  Washington 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        79 

threw  a  silver  dollar  across  the  Rappahan- 
nock  River,  and  the  farm  just  across  the 
river  and  immediately  opposite  Fredericks- 
burg  as  the  place  where  the  cherry  tree 
and  hatchet  incident  occurred.  Although 
tradition  says  Washington  read  this  life 
of  himself  by  Weems,  history  does  not  re 
cord  what  he  said  about  it.  Perhaps  he 
thought  if  he  (Washington)  could  not  tell 
a  lie,  the  parson  could,  and  did. 

Mercer  and  Washington  were  close  and 
intimate  friends  from  the  time  they  first 
met  on  the  frontier  of  Pennsylvania  until 
the  death  of  Mercer  at  Princeton.  They 
often  met  in  old  Fredericksburg,  at  the 
home  of  Washington's  mother,  in  the  lodge 
room,  and  at  the  old  Rising  Sun  tavern. 
He  who  enters  the  town  is  constrained  to 
stand  reverently,  with  uncovered  head,  on 
ground  around  which  cling  holy  memories 
of  its  most  illustrious  citizen. 


JOHN  PAUL  JONES 

John  Paul  was  born  July  6,  1747, 
in  the  parish  of  Kirkbean,  Scotland.  His 
brother,  William  Paul,  had  resided  in  Fred 
ericksburg  some  time  prior  to  1760,  and 
kept  a  grocery  store  in  a  house  now  stand- 


80        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

ing  at  the  corner  of  Prussia  and  Main 
streets, 

The  will  of  William  Paul  is  recorded  in 
Spottsylvania  County,  dated  March  22, 
1772,  and  probated  November  16,  1774.  In 
his  will  he  wrote :  * '  It  is  my  will  and 
desire  that  my  lots  and  houses  in 
this  town  be  sold  and  converted  into  money, 
which  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  beloved 
sister,  Mary  Young,  and  her  two  oldest 
children,  in  the  Parish  of  Kirkbean,  in 
the  stewarty  of  Galloway,  North  Britain, 
Scotland."  And  as  this  Mary  Young- 
was  also  sister  of  John  Paul,  it  cannot 
possibly  be  doubted  that  William  and  John 
Paul  were  brothers.  William  Paul  died 
in  1773,  and  is  buried  in  old  St.  George's 
churchyard.  Over  his  remains  there  is  still 
standing  a  moss-covered  stone,  with  the 
simple  inscription :  '  <  William  Paul,  1773. ' ' 

Seven  cities  claimed  Homer,  dead,  and 
three  contended  for  Virgil ;  a  greater  num 
ber  of  American  cities  claim  that  John  Paul 
had  his  home  within  their  gates,  but  the 
record  is  against  them.  Fredericksburg, 
Virginia,  was  the  one  and  only  home  of  the 
great  admiral  in  this  country.  One  of  his 
many  biographers,  as  far  back  as  1823,  lo 
cates  him  at  Fredericksburg,  at  the  home 
of  his  brother  William. 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        81 

During  the  Revolution  he  wrote  to  Baron 
Von  Copelan:  "America  has  been  the 
country  of  my  fond  election  since  I  was 
thirteen,  when  I  first  saw  it."  His  first 
visit,  therefore,  to  Fredericksburg  was 
about  1760,  and  after  remaining  there  for 
nearly  four  years  he  went  back  to  Scot 
land.  In  '  <  The  National  Portrait  Gallery, ' ' 
published  in  1833,  it  is  stated,  "In  1773  we 
find  him  (John  Paul)  in  Fredericksburg, 
arranging  the  estate  of  his  brother  Will 
iam,  who  had  settled  in  Fredericksburg." 
In  addition,  the  traditions  and  history  of 
the  town  establish  the  unimpeachable  fact 
that  the  illustrious  hero  of  the  sea  had  only 
one  home  in  America — Fredericksburg.  It 
was  while  living  there  that  he  added  Jones 
to  his  name.  The  reason  that  moved  him 
to  do  this  is  not  known.  Speculation  and 
guesses  abound,  and  authorities  differ. 
There  must  have  been  some  strong  impel 
ling  cause,  but  it  is  locked  in  the  mystery 
of  a  long  silence. 

While  a  resident  of  that  town  he  received 
his  commission  as  lieutenant  in  the  Conti 
nental  Navy.  The  splendid  achievements 
of  John  Paul  Jones  are  already  so  well 
known  to  the  world  that  I  will  not  attempt 
in  so  brief  an  article  as  this  to  narrate  them 
or  to  give  the  story  of  his  brilliant  career. 


82        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

His  hand  was  the  first  to  unfurl  the  Stars 
and  Stripes  on  the  high  seas.  As  the  com 
mander  of  the  Bon  Homme  Richard,  his 
story  is  the  pride  of  every  boy  in  America. 
He  was  the  only  man  who  ever  gave  battle 
to  the  English  on  English  soil.  These 
things  are  within  the  knowledge  of  all.  It 
is  of  his  life  in  Fredericksburg  that  I 
write,  and  strive  to  redeem  from  the  past 
those  years  of  which  so  little  has  been  writ 
ten. 

Mercer  and  Jones,  both  Scotchmen,  were 
residents  there  at  the  same  time,  and  it  can 
scarcely  be  drawing  on  the  imagination  to 
picture  these  men  of  the  Clans  of  old  Scot- 
hand  often  meeting  in  social  intercourse 
to  talk  of  the  land  of  their  birth,  being 
drawn  together  as  friends  and  associates 
by  the  strong  bond  of  their  mother-country. 

It  was  from  Fredericksburg  that  Mercer 
went  forth  to  make  his  name  immortal, 
fighting  the  battles  of  the  Colonies  on  land ; 
and  it  was  from  there  that  John  Paul  Jones 
went  to  become  illustrious  by  his  great  vic 
tories  on  the  sea.  The  memories  of  both 
these  great  and  illustrious  men  are  cher 
ished  by  old  Fredericksburg,  and  will  ever 
be  cherished  by  her  as  long  as  the  story 
of  their  lives  shall  live  and  Fredericksburg 
shall  last. 


John  Paul  Jones 


OPPOSITE     P.     82 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        83 

GENERAL  GEORGE  WEEDON 

George  Weedon  was  the  "mine  host"  of 
the  Rising  Sun  tavern  at  Fredericksburg, 
whom  our  English  traveler,  heretofore 
mentioned,  said  was  over-zealous  in  stir 
ring  up  sedition  in  the  Colonies.  He  was 
also  postmaster  there.  The  post-office  was 
kept  in  the  tavern.  Weedon  was  appointed 
lieutenant-colonel  of  the  regiment  of  which 
Mercer  was  the  colonel,  was  promoted  to 
its  colonelcy  on  August  17,  1776,  and  was 
made  a  brigadier-general  on  February  24, 
1777. 

In  the  Battle  of  Brandywine,  Weedon 
rendered  conspicuous  and  valuable  service 
while  commanding  a  brigade  in  Greene's 
division,  which  checked  the  pursuit  of  the 
British  and  saved  our  army  from  utter  and 
complete  rout.  He  was  a  brave  and  bril 
liant  commanding  officer  at  the  Battle  of 
Germantown.  In  consequence  of  some  dis 
satisfaction  about  rank,  he  left  the  army 
at  Valley  Forge,  re-entering  it  in  1780 ;  and 
in  1781  he  was  given  the  command  of  the 
Virginia  Militia  at  Gloucester,  which  posi 
tion  he  held  at  the  surrender  of  Cornwal- 
lis  at  Yorktown. 

General  Weedon  was  the  first  president 
of  the  Virginia  Branch  of  the  Society  of 


84        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

Cincinnati,  and  was  a  member  of  Lodge 
No.  4,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  of  which  lodge  Mer 
cer  was  at  one  time  the  Master.  After  the 
death  of  his  brother-in-law,  General  Hugh 
Mercer,  General  Weedon  occupied  "The 
Sentry  Box"  on  lower  Main  street;  and 
was  appointed  by  the  Court  the  guardian  of 
Mercer's  children.  He  died  in  Fredericks- 
burg  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century. 

The  General  wrote  a  song,  entitled 
"Christmas  Day  in  76,"  which  was  sung 
at  his  festive  board  at  each  recurring 
Christmas.  A  very  interesting  account  of 
this  was  given  in  a  letter  dated  February 
8,  1837,  from  Hugh  Mercer,  Esq.,  the  son 
of  the  General,  to  the  grandfather  of  Judge 
Beverly  Wellford,  of  Richmond,  and  no 
apology  is  offered  for  reproducing  this 
song  in  this  memoir. 


CHRISTMAS  DAY  IN  76 

On  Christmas  Day  in  seventy-six 

Our  ragged  troops,  with  bayonets  fixed, 

For  Trenton  marched  away. 
The  Delaware  ice,  the  boats  below, 
The  light  obscured  by  hail  and  snow, 

But  no  signs  of  dismay. 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        85 

Our  object  was  the  Hessian  band 
That  dare  invade  fair  Freedom's  land, 

At  quarter  in  that  place. 
Great  Washington,  he  led  us  on, 
With  ensigns  streaming  with  renown, 

Which  ne'er  had  known  disgrace. 

In  silent  march  we  spent  the  night, 
Each  soldier  panting  for  the  fight, 

Though  quite  benumbed  with  frost. 
Greene  on  the  left  at  six  began, 
The  right  was  with  brave  Sullivan, 

Who  in  battle  no  time  lost. 

Their    pickets    stormed;    the    alarm   was 

spread ; 
The  rebels,  risen  from  the  dead, 

Were  marching  into  town. 
Some    scampered   here,    some    scampered 

there, 

And  some  for  action  did  prepare; 
But  soon  their  arms  laid  down. 

Twelve  hundred  servile  miscreants, 
With  all  their  colors,  guns,  and  tents, 

Were  trophies  of  the  day. 
The  frolic  o  'er,  the  bright  canteen 
In  center,  front,  and  rear,  was  seen, 

Driving  fatigue  awav. 


86        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

And,  brothers  of  the  cause,  let's  sing 
Our  safe  deliverance  from  a  king 

Who  strove  to  extend  his  sway. 
And  life,  you  know,  is  but  a  span; 
Let's  touch  the  tankard  while  we  can, 

In  memory  of  the  day. 

1 1  Written  by  General  George  Weedon,  of 
the  Eevolutionary  Army,  who  was  in  the 
action  at  Trenton,  and  had  charge  of  the 
Hessian  prisoners  after  the  victory,  which 
prevented  his  being  at  Princeton  a  few 
days  after  and  taking  part  in  that  glorious 
victory. 

"My  uncle  and  second  father,  General 
Weedon,  went  through  the  whole  Eevolu 
tionary  W^ar,  commanding  the  American 
troops  on  the  Gloucester  side  of  York  River 
during  the  siege  of  York  and  the  surrender 
of  the  British  Army  at  that  memorable 
place.  The  brilliant  victories  at  Trenton 
and  Princeton  were  won  at  the  most  gloomy 
period  of  the  great  struggle  for  our  inde 
pendence  ;  it  was  the  crisis  of  the  war,  and 
turned  the  scale  in  favor  of  our  bleeding 
country.  H.  MERGER.  " 

"My  dear  Sir:  I  have  had  much  pleas 
ure  in  writing  out  for  you,  as  you  request 
ed,  the  patriotic  song  of  '  Christmas  Day  in 
'76. '  For  many  years  after  the  Revolution 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        87 

my  uncle  celebrated  at  'The  Sentry  Box' 
(his  residence,  and  now  mine)  the  capture 
of  the  Hessians,  by  a  great  festival — a  jubi 
lee  dinner,  if  I  may  so  express  myself — at 
which  the  Revolutionary  officers  then  living 
here  and  in  our  vicinity,  besides  others  of 
our  friends,  were  always  present.  It  was 
an  annual  feast,  a  day  or  so  after  Christ 
mas  Day,  and  the  same  guests  always  at 
tended. 

' '  Your  father  was,  of  course,  a  standing 
guest.  I  was  young,  and  a  little  fellow,  and 
was  always  drawn  up  at  the  table  to  sing 
'  Christmas  Day  in  '76.' 

' ;  Two  young  servant  boys  he  was  bring 
ing  up  as  waiters  in  the  family  were  posted 
at  the  door  as  sentinels,  in  military  cos 
tumes,  with  wooden  muskets  on  their  shoul 
ders  ;  one  he  called  Corporal  Killbuck  and 
the  other  Corporal  Killdee.  It  was  always 
a  joyous  holiday  at  'The  Sentry  Box.' 

"I  am,  my  dear  sir, 

"Most  truly  yours, 

"H.  MERCEB." 

JAMES  MONEOE 

James  Monroe  was  born  in  Westmore 
land  County,  Virginia,  April  28,  1758.  He 
was  educated  at  William  and  Mary  College, 


88         The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

graduating  in  1776.  On  leaving  that  col 
lege  he  took  up  law  for  a  profession;  but 
being  inspired  by  the  martial  fire  that  was 
then  filling  the  breasts  of  the  young  men  of 
that  time,  at  the  commencement  of  hostili 
ties  he  offered  his  services  and  sword  in 
the  cause  of  the  Colonies.  He  was  made  a 
lieutenant  in  the  regiment  which  was  com 
manded  by  Hugh  Mercer,  and  was  with 
Washington  and  Mercer  when  they  crossed 
the  Delaware.  On  December  26,  1776,  he 
was  wounded  in  the  shoulder  at  Trenton, 
while  leading  the  van  of  the  army.  On  re 
covering  from  his  wound  he  was  appointed 
as  an  aide-de-camp  on  the  staff  of  Lord 
Sterling,  and  was  in  the  battles  of  Brandy- 
wine,  Germantown  and  Monmouth. 

After  the  war  he  again  took  up  his  resi 
dence  in  Fredericksburg.  Under  the  laws 
then  in  force,  in  order  to  vote  and  hold  of 
fice  it  was  necessary  to  own  property ;  and 
to  meet  that  qualification,  an  uncle  of  Mon 
roe,  who  was  also  a  resident  of  Fredericks- 
burg,  made  him  a  gift  of  a  town  lot,  and 
thus  he  was  enabled  to  exercise  the  great 
and  inalienable  right  of  an  American  citi 
zen. 

Monroe  was  at  that  time  a  member  of 
the  Fredericksburg  Town  Council,  and  a 
vestryman  of  St.  George's  Episcopal 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        89 

Church.  When  only  twenty-four  years  of 
age  he  was  sent  to  Congress  for  the  district 
of  which  Fredericksburg  constituted  a  part. 
So  it  was  brought  about  that  Monroe,  in  the 
Town  Council  of  Fredericksburg,  com 
menced  a  career  which  culminated  in  his 
election  to  the  Presidency. 

Monroe  was  a  continuous  office-holder, 
having  been  a  town  councilman,  a  member 
of  the  Virginia  Legislature,  Governor  of 
that  State,  member  of  Congress,  minister 
to  two  foreign  courts,  senator,  cabinet  offi 
cer  and  President.  And,  what  is  to  his 
everlasting  honor  and  credit,  he  executed 
the  trusts  of  these  various  and  varied  sta 
tions  with  faithfulness  and  efficiency.  He 
did  his  duty,  and  did  it  well,  and  has  en 
shrined  his  name  in  America's  history  as 
a  patriotic  citizen,  and  as  a  conscientious, 
conservative  and  able  officer. 

The  result  of  his  life  in  dollars  and  cents 
was  that  his  poverty  was  to  him  a  badge 
of  honor. 

Monroe  was  much  younger  than  Mercer, 
but  he  doubtless  was  found  on  the  outskirts 
of  the  assembled  and  much  excited  patriots 
around  the  old  open  fireplace  at  the  Eising 
Sun  tavern,  which  tradition  locates  as  a 
meeting  place  of  these  worthies  "in  ye  old 
en  time"  for  the  discussion  of  the  removal 


90        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

of  the  powder  at  Williamsburg  by  Dun- 
more,  and  other  acts  of  England's  intol 
erable  tyranny,  as  well  as  to  formulate 
methods  and  means  to  stop  and  stay  the 
onward  march  of  Great  Britain's  aggres 
sions  against  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the 
Colonies.  And  when  the  cry  "To  arms!" 
rang  out  over  the  land,  young  Monroe 
showed  his  faith  by  his  works  when  he  en 
listed  in  the  regiment  of  which  his  friend, 
Mercer,  was  colonel. 

He  was,  however,  destined  to  play  a 
greater  and  more  prominent  part  in  the 
drama  of  life  than  Mercer.  From  a  lieu 
tenant  he  became  the  Commander-in-Chief 
of  the  army ;  from  a  member  of  the  council 
of  the  town  of  Fredericksburg  he  became 
the  Chief  Executive  of  the  Eepublic.  Who 
knows  how  potential  was  the  influence  of 
Mercer  on  the  life  of  Monroe,  and  how 
much,  and  how  far,  that  influence  shaped 
and  molded  his  character,  and  thus 
brought  about  the  illustrious  career  of 
Monroe?  We  only  know  that  they  were 
true  and  loyal  friends. 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        91 

MARY,  THE  MOTHER  OF 
WASHINGTON 

After  the  death  of  her  husband,  Augus 
tine  Washington,  "Madam  Washington,7' 
as  she  was  called  by  her  neighbors  and 
friends,  moved  to  Fredericksburg,  and 
lived  and  died  in  the  house  now  standing 
on  the  corner  of  Charles  and  Lewis  streets. 

The  world  pays  its  tribute  to  the  memory 
of  the  mother  of  the  "Father  of  His  Coun 
try.  ' '  President  Andrew  Jackson  said  that 
"the  character  of  Washington  was  aided 
and  strengthened,  if  not  formed,  by  the  care 
and  precepts  of  his  mother,  who  was  re 
markable  for  the  vigor  of  her  intellect  and 
the  firmness  of  her  resolution. ' ' 

Mrs.  Washington  was  left  in  early  life  a 
widow,  with  the  burden  of  a  young  and 
large  family,  and  to  the  task  of  guarding 
and  governing  them  she  unselfishly  devoted 
herself.  She  was  a  woman  of  much  busi 
ness  ability,  for  her  farm  she  managed  with 
great  skill  and  with  profitable  results.  Tra 
dition  says  she  was  rather  inaccessible  and 
somewhat  exclusive,  for  she  was  in  no  sense 
a  society  woman.  Mrs.  Washington  was  in 
tensely  religious,  a  consistent  member  of 
St.  George's  Episcopal  Church,  and  very 
charitable  to  the  poor.  Her  hospitable  home 


92        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

was  always  open  to  her  friends,  among 
whom  was  Hugh  Mercer,  who  was  a  fre 
quent  visitor  there. 

When  Washington  found  himself  the  lau 
rel-crowned  hero  of  the  new  Eepublic,  he 
came  first  to  pay  his  homage  and  filial  de 
votion  to  his  revered  mother.  On  that  visit 
he  was  accompanied  by  Lafayette  and  a 
number  of  other  distinguished  military 
men.  She  received  him  as  a  devoted  moth 
er  should  receive  a  dutiful  son.  In  that 
reception  Washington  the  hero,  to  her,  had 
no  part.  She  was  proud  of  her  great  son, 
proud  because  of  his  greatness,  but  prouder 
still,  no  doubt,  as  she  remembered  her  part 
in  making  that  son  great. 

He  escorted  her  to  the  Peace  Ball  before 
mentioned.  At  nine  o 'clock  she  said  it  was 
time  for  old  people  to  go  home,  and  she 
went. 

Washington  sent  a  special  messenger  to 
his  mother,  it  is  said,  to  give  her  the  glad 
tidings  of  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis.  An 
old  gentleman  once  told  the  writer  of  this 
brief  memoir  that  when  that  messenger 
dashed  up  the  deserted  streets  of  Freder- 
icksburg  a  Mr.  Keiger,  then  a  very  young 
but  precocious  boy,  was  urged  by  some 
older  ones  standing  on  the  street  corner  to 
go  up  to  Madam  Washington  and  get  the 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        93 

news.  Keiger  went ;  Mrs.  Washington  was 
in  her  garden ;  he  watched  and  waited  until 
she  had  opened  the  letter  with  a  pair  of 
scissors  attached  to  her  waist  by  a  cord, 
then  turning,  she  said,  "My  young  man, 
what  is  it  you  want?"  He  told  her.  She 
said,  "Tell  the  gossips  that  George  has 
sent  me  word  that  Lord  Cornwallis  has  sur 
rendered  at  Yorktown." 

Lafayette,  on  his  visit,  called  on  the 
mother  of  his  illustrious  chief;  he  wrote 
home  to  France  quite  a  lengthy  account  of 
that  visit.  Mrs.  Washington  met  him  at 
the  door  of  her  residence;  he  introduced 
himself.  ' '  Walk  right  in, ' '  said  the  Madam. 
"I  am  glad  to  see  you,  for  George  has  told 
me  all  about  you."  He  was  ushered  into 
the  parlor,  and  refreshed  the  inner  man 
with  her  home-made  ginger  cake  and  her 
home-brewed  rum  punch ;  and  he  went  from 
that  simple  country  home  declaring  that  he 
was  glad  to  say  he  had  seen  in  her  a  splen 
did  old  Virginia  matron. 

In  appearance,  Mrs.  Washington  was  of 
medium  height,  and  rather  stout  in  her  old 
age,  but  carried  herself  with  great  dignity. 
For  a  number  of  years  she  suffered  from 
a  very  painful  disease.  On  August  25,  1789, 
she  died.  In  her  last  illness  she  was  at 
tended  by  Doctors  Mortimer  and  Hall.  The 


94        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

funeral  ceremonies  were  held  in  St. 
George's  Episcopal  Church,  August  28, 
1789.  On  the  day  of  the  funeral  all  busi 
ness  was  suspended  in  the  town ;  the  church 
bells  tolled.  The  whole  population  wended 
its  way  solemnly  and  reverently  to  pay  its 
last  sad  tribute  to  the  memory  of  a  friend 
and  neighbor.  She  was  buried  on  the  Ken- 
more  farm,  then  owned  and  occupied  by 
her  daughter,  Mrs.  Fielding  Lewis,  in  a 
spot  she  herself  had  selected  for  that 
purpose,  near  what  are  now  known  as 
the  Oratory  Rocks,  where  she  frequently 
sat  with  her  grandchildren  and  read  her 
Bible. 

When  the  sad  tidings  of  her  death  was 
conveyed  to  Congress,  resolutions  of  sym 
pathy  for  President  Washington,  and  a 
tribute  to  her  memory,  were  passed.  This 
deeply  touched  Washington,  who  respond 
ed  in  a  note  of  thanks,  adding :  "  I  attribute 
all  of  my  success  in  life  to  the  moral,  intel 
lectual  and  physical  education  which  I  re 
ceived  from  my  mother/'  No  grander 
tribute  was  ever  paid  by  a  great  man  to 
his  mother  than  that,  and  the  world,  well 
knowing  how  much  was  accomplished  by 
him,  can  readily  pay  its  homage  to  the 
memory  of  this  great  and  good  woman, 
for—  ' 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        95 

"Methinks  we  see  thee  as  in  olden  time, 
Simple  in  garb,  majestic  and  serene, 
Unmoved  by  pomp  and  circumstance, 
Inflexible,  and  with  a  Spartan  zeal 
Expressing     vice,     and     making     folly 
grave. ' ' 

In  1833  the  erection  of  a  monument  over 
the  grave  of  this  most  illustrious  of  Ameri 
can  women  was  commenced,  but  never  com 
pleted.  Congress  was  importuned,  but 
failed  to  act,  although  it  had  promised  in 
1789,  by  solemn  resolution,  to  build  a  mon 
ument  to  mark  the  spot  where  sleeps  the 
mother  of  Washington. 

On  October  21, 1889,  the  following  appeal 
was  made  by  the  wife  of  this  writer: 

"AN    APPEAL   IN    BEHALF    OF    THE    MARY 
WASHINGTON   MONUMENT 

"Amid  great  pomp  and  ceremony  the 
corner-stone  of  the  monument  to  the  mem 
ory  of  Mary  Washington,  the  mother  of 
'The  Father  of  this  Bepublic,'  was  laid  in 
1833.  The  erection  of  the  monument  over 
the  grave  of  this  most  illustrious  of  Ameri 
can  women  was  voluntarily  undertaken  by 
a  philanthropic  and  patriotic  citizen,  Silas 


96        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

Burrows,  of  New  York.  Mr.  Burrows  died 
before  its  completion.  It  is  now  in  an  un 
finished  and  dilapidated  condition. 

'  *  Congress  has  been  again  and  again  ap 
pealed  to  and  importuned.  Favorable  leg 
islation  has  been  promised,  but  this  incom 
plete  monument  crumbles  and  decays.  Shall 
the  memory  of  the  mother  of  the  great 
Washington  longer  be  neglected?  In  every 
State  of  this  Union  monuments  mark  with 
emphasis  the  veneration  with  which  George 
Washington  is  held  by  a  grateful  republic, 
and  at  the  Capitol  of  the  nation  there  is 
one  that  towers  above  all  the  rest;  but  no 
where  is  there  recognition  made  of  the 
mother.  Her  very  grave  at  this  place  is 
marked  only  by  an  unsightly  pile  of  marble. 
Shall  this  neglect  continue? 

"Mrs.  Washington  was  an  uncommon 
woman.  It  is  recorded  of  her  that  'she 
was  of  strong  will,  splendid  judgment,  un 
tiring  energy,  and  without  pretension, '  and 
from  these  elements  she  molded  her  great 
son,  taught  him  to  become  great,  equipped 
him  with  attributes  essential  to  great 
ness. 

"She  lived,  during  the  Eevolutionary 
War,  in  Fredericksburg ;  died,  and  was  bur 
ied  here  at  the  spot  she  herself  had  selected 
for  that  purpose.  Shall  the  grave  of  Mary 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        97 

Washington  be  allowed  to  remain  longer 
in  a  condition  which  is  the  reminder  of  the 
forgetfulness,  rather  than  the  gratitude,  of 
our  people?  Remember  that  the  grave  of 
Washington  himself  is  held  as  a  very  Mecca 
to  which  all  liberty-loving  people  can  make 
their  pilgrimage — the  work  of  the  faithful 
and  devoted  women  of  this  land.  And  it  is 
proposed  that  an  organization  shall  at  once 
be  formed,  having  for  its  object  the  erec 
tion  of  a  monument  over  the  grave  of 
George  Washington's  mother  at  this 
place. 

"Will  the  women  of  this  Eepublic 
respond  to  this  appeal?  Are  they 
not  willing  to  undertake  this  patriotic 
work? 

"To  the  end  that  steps  may  be  immedi 
ately  taken,  it  is  intended  to  obtain  a 
charter  of  incorporation  of  the  Mary  Wash 
ington  Memorial  Association,  to  have  a 
president,  one  vice-president  in  each  State, 
and  other  usual  and  necessary  officers,  all 
women.  It  is  also  suggested  that  the  ladies 
of  America,  on  February  22,  1890,  shall  in 
every  State  make  some  organized  effort  to 
raise  the  necessary  funds.  The  writer  of 
this  requests  that  the  papers  give  circu 
lation  to  this  appeal,  and  she  will  be  glad 
to  hear  from  any  ladies  who  desire  to 


98        The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

take  an  active  interest  in  this  patriotic 
purpose. 

"MRS.  JOHN  T.  GOOLEICK. 
"Fredericksburg,  Va.,  Oct.  15, 1889." 

In  response,  largely  to  that  appeal,  or  in 
part  at  least  as  a  result  of  it,  the  National 
Mary  Washington  Monument  Association 
was  organized,  composed  of  patriotic 
women  of  America,  and  a  stately,  imposing 
monument  stands  sentinel  over  the  grave 
of  Mrs.  Washington.  On  one  side  of  it  is 
inscribed,  "Erected  by  Her  Country 
women.  "  Just  here  it  will  not  be  irrele 
vant  to  record  an  incident.  A  verdant 
woman  visited  this  monument  and  read 
'  *  Erected  by  Her  Countrywomen. ' 9  "  Thank 
the  Lawd!"  she  said,  "that  no  city  wimen 
had  nothing  to  do  with  this  monument. "  On 
the  other  side  of  this  splendid  granite  shaft 
is  inscribed  in  raised  letters  this  epitaph : 

"Mary,  the  Mother  of  Washington." 
LODGE  NO.  4,  A.  F.  AND  A.  M.     " 

Past  Master  Bro.  S.  J.  Quinn,  of  Fred 
ericksburg,  has  compiled  a  very  interesting 
history  of  this  Lodge.  From  it  we  find 
that  it  was  organized  September  1, 1752.  It 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer        99 

has  had  among  its  membership  many  good 
men  and  true,  many  who  became  illustrious 
besides  George  Washington,  Hugh  Mercer 
and  George  Weedon,  of  whose  membership 
in  that  Lodge  we  have  heretofore  made 
mention.  Its  records  are  quaint  and  curi 
ous,  and  as  an  illustration  of  this,  we  ex 
tract  from  its  proceedings  as  follows : 

"On  December  19,  1755,  it  was  resolved 
by  unanimous  consent  of  the  Lodge,  that 
the  treasurer  shall,  at  his  discretion,  pur 
chase  on  account  of  this  Lodge  six  lottery 
tickets,  and  the  numbers  of  them  to  be  re 
turned  to  the  Lodge  and  made  a  minute 
of. ' '  And  tradition  says  that  these  tickets 
were  signed  by  the  illustrious  brother, 
George  Washington,  who  was  president  of 
the  company. 

On  April  15, 1769,  "on  motion  of  Broth 
er  Alexander  Woodron,  it  was  resolved, 
that  the  Stewarts  of  this  Lodge,  for  the 
time  being,  shall  for  the  future  provide 
liquors,  candies,  and  all  other  necessaries 
for  the  use  of  the  Lodge. ' '  About  this  time 
two  demijohns,  one  called  "Jachen,"  full 
of  Jamaica  rum,  and  the  other  called 
"Boaz,"  full  of  Holland  gin,  with  an  old- 
fashioned  loaf  of  sugar,  were  kept  in  the 
ante-room  for  the  refreshment  of  the  breth 
ren  ;  and  tradition  hath  it,  that  some  of  the 


100      The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

brothers  were  content  to  tarry  in  the  ante 
room  and  never  got  any  farther. 

"On  December  27,  1756,  being  the  anni 
versary  of  our  Patron  Saint  John,  the 
Lodge  assembled,  attended  by  several  vis 
iting  brothers,  and  went  in  procession  to 
the  church,  where  we  heard  a  most  excel 
lent  sermon  preached  by  our  worthy  Broth 
er  James  Marye,  after  which  we  returned 
in  procession  to  the  Lodge,  where  our  wor 
thy  Master  returned  the  thanks  of  the 
Lodge  to  our  worthy  Brother  James  Marye 
for  so  good  a  sermon. 

"The  Lodge  being  closed,  the  evening 
was  spent  very  agreeably  with  a  Ball. ' ' 

On  the  second  Sunday  in  December,  1799, 
after  the  death  of  General  Washington, 
Lodge  No.  4  met  in  a  Lodge  of  sorrow.  The 
Grand  Master  of  Virginia,  who  was  a  mem 
ber  of  that  Lodge  and  citizen  of  Fredericks- 
burg,  Benjamin  Day,  made  an  address, 
from  which  we  quote  in  part : 

"We  are  now,  brethren,  assembled  to 
pay  the  last  sad  tribute  of  affection  and  re 
spect  to  the  eminent  virtues  and  exemplary 
conduct  that  adorned  the  character  of  our 
worthy  deceased  brother,  George  Wash 
ington.  He  was  early  initiated  in  this  ven 
erable  Lodge,  in  the  mysteries  of  our  an 
cient  and  honorable  profession,  and  having 


General  George  Washington  as  a  Mason  and  Member  of 
Lodge  No.  4,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Fredericksburg,  Virginia 


OPPOSITE     P.     100 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer      101 

held  it  in  the  highest  and  most  just  venera 
tion,  the  fraternal  attention  we  now  show 
to  his  memory  is  the  more  incumbent 
upon  us." 

After  these  memorial  exercises  in  the 
Lodge  room,  the  Lodge  went  in  procession 
to  St.  George's  Episcopal  Church,  where 
religious  services  were  held. 

On  Sunday,  November  28,  1824,  General 
Lafayette,  with  his  son,  George  Washing 
ton  Lafayette,  and  Colonel  La  Vassem,  vis 
ited  that  Lodge.  Lafayette  on  this  occasion 
was  made  an  Honorary  Member,  and  in  re 
sponse  to  an  address  of  welcome  the  Mar 
quis  said: 

"The  pleasure  I  ever  feel  in  our  frater 
nal  meetings  cannot  but  be  enhanced  by  the 
consideration,  that  in  this  city  the  first  les 
sons  of  childhood,  and  in  this  Lodge  the 
first  lessons  of  Masonry,  were  conferred 
upon  the  man  who  was  first  in  all  our 
hearts. "  *  *  * 

This  old  Lodge  has  many  valuable  relics 
and  mementos  of  the  old  times;  among 
them,  a  portrait  of  Washington  painted 
from  life  by  Sully,  and  the  Holy  Bible  upon 
which  Washington,  Mercer  and  Weedon 
were  obligated  as  Masons. 

This  historic  Lodge,  the  Alma  Mater  in 
Masonry  of  distinguished  and  illustrious 


102      The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

men,  feels  proud  of  its  record,  as  well  as 
of  its  roll  of  honor ;  for  it  has  always  been 
faithful  and  true  to  the  sacred  principles 
and  tenets  of  the  order,  ever  practicing 
and  proclaiming  as  its  holy  mission  the  ele 
vation  and  ennoblement  of  mankind. 


APPENDIX 

GENEALOGICAL  NOTES  ON  THE  DESCENDANTS 

OP 

EEV.  JOHN  MERCER  OF  KINNELLAN 
1650-1676. 

John  Mercer  1  was  minister  of  Kinnel- 
lan  in  Aberdeenshire,  Scotland,  from  1650 
to  1676,  when  he  resigned  (in  June)  be 
cause  of  infirmity.  He  died  August  7, 1677. 
John  Mercer  of  Kinnellan  married  Lilias 
Row.  She  was  the  great-granddaughter  of 
John  Row,  the  Reformer.  (See  The  Scot 
tish  Nation  by  William  Anderson,  Vol.  Ill, 
p.  380.) 

The  children  of  John  Mercer  (1)  and 
Lilias  Row,  his  wife,  were: 

1.  John  Mercer  2.    Baptized  January 
8,  1654,  at  Old  Machar.    Died  young. 

2.  Agnes  2  (or  Annas).   Baptized  Janu 
ary  20, 1656.    Polled,  1696,  at  Todlay,  Par 
ish  of  Alva. 

103 


104      The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

3.  Thomas  Mercer  2.  Baptized  January 
20,  1658.  Polled,  1696.  He  was  married 
twice.  His  first  wife  was  Anna  Eaite.  The 
marriage  contract  is  dated  July  13,  1681. 
His  second  wife  was  Isabel. 


The  children  of  THOMAS  MEKCEK  2  (5) 
were: 

1.  Lilias  Mercer  3.    Polled  1696. 

2.  John  Mercer  3.    Polled  1696.    Mar 
ried  Isabel  Martin. 

3.  Margaret  Mercer  3.    Polled  1696. 

4.  Janet  Mercer  3.    Polled  1696.    Mar 
ried  June  1,  1704,  at  Fyvie,  to  Robert  Eait 
of  Micklefalla. 

5.  Thomas  Mercer  3.     Baptized  April 
25,  1693.    Polled  1696. 

6.  Christian  Mercer  3.    Baptized  June 
4,  1695.    Polled  1696. 

7.  William  Mercer  3.    Baptized  March 
25,  1696.    Married  Anne,  daughter  of  Sir 
Eobert  Munro  of  Foulis. 


The  children  of  John  Mercer  3  (9)  and 
Isabel  Martin,  his  wife,  were : 

1.  Elizabeth  Mercer  4.  Baptized  De 
cember  10, 1710.  Married  Rev.  James  Wil 
son,  minister  of  Glowerie,  May  27,  1735. 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer      105 

2.  John  Mercer  4.    Baptized  March  27, 
1717. 

3.  Thomas  Mercer  4.     Baptized  Octo 
ber  17,  1721. 

4.  Isabel  Mercer  4.    Baptized  June  15, 
1723. 

5.  Agnes  Mercer  4.    Baptized  May  20, 
1725. 


The  children  of  WILLIAM  MERGER  3  (14) 
and  ANNE  MUNRO  3  (15),  his  wife,  were: 

1.  Margaret  Mercer  4.    Baptized  June 
8,  1724. 

2.  Hugh  Mercer  4.    Baptized  January, 
1726.    Emigrated  to  America  and  married 
Isabella  Gordon  of  Virginia.    Wounded  at 
Princeton,  January  3,  1777,  where  he  died 
on  January  12th  of  the  same  year. 

3.  Isabel  Mercer  4.     Baptized  October 
30,  1735.    Married  George  Mercer  of  Marl 
boro. 


The  children  of  GEN.  HUGH  MERCER  4 
(23)  and  ISABELLA  GORDON  (24),  his  wife, 
were: 

1.  Anna  Gordon  Mercer  5.  Married 
Eobert  Patton  of  Fredericksburg,  Va.  In 
a  letter  from  Mrs.  Dunbar,  who  was  Eliza- 


106      The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

beth  Gregory  Thornton,  to  her  sister,  Mrs. 
Frances  Thornton  of  Fall  Hill,  nee  Miss 
Innes,  daughter  of  Judge  Innes  of  Ken 
tucky,  she  wrote  of  this  marriage :  *  *  But  if 
I  go  on  so  fast  I  will  not  have  time  to  tell 
you  about  Miss  Ann  Mercer's  wedding. 
Well,  Polly  and  myself  were  drawn  forth  in 
our  best  airs  on  the  occasion,  last  Thursday 
was  a  week,  and  saw  Miss  M.  give  her  hand 
to  the  delighted  Mr.  Patton.  You  may  be 
sure  she  looked  infinitely  lovely;  her  dress 
was  white  satin  and  muslin;  her  necklace, 
earrings  and  bracelets  were  very  bril 
liant/' 

2.  John  Mercer  5.     Born  1772.     Died 
September  30,  1817. 

3.  William  Mercer  5.    Died  unmarried. 
He  was  deaf  and  dumb. 

4.  George  Weedon  Mercer  5.    Died  un 
married. 

5.  Hugh  Tenant  Weedon  Mercer  5.    He 
was  a  child  in  arms  at  his  father's  death. 
He  was  educated  at  the  expense  of  the  na 
tion  by  act  of  Congress  of  1793.    He  mar 
ried  Louisa  Griffin  5,  daughter  of  Judge 
Cyrus  Griffin  by  Lady  Christina  Stuart. 

Col.  Hugh  Mercer  5  (31)  was  born  in 
Fredericksburg,  August  4,  1776,  died  at 
the  " Sentry  Box,"  Fredericksburg,  De 
cember  1,  1853.  His  wife,  Louisa  Griffin 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer      107 

Mercer  5  (32),  died  December  28,  1859, 
aged  80  years.  These  dates  are  taken  from 
the  tombs  in  the  Masonic  Cemetery  in  Fred- 
ericksburg. 


THE  DESCENDANTS  OF  EOBEKT  PATTON  AND 
ANNE  GORDON  MERCER 

EGBERT  PATTON  5  (27)  was  a  Scotchman. 
He  emigrated  to  Virginia  some  time  before 
the  Revolutionary  War,  settled  in  Fred- 
ericksburg,  Va.,  and  there  married  ANNE 
GORDON  MERCER  5  (26),  only  daughter  of 
GEN.  HUGH  MERCER  4  (23),  about  1793,  but 
prior  to  November  25th  of  that  year  vide 
will  of  General  Weedon. 

The  children  of  Eobert  Patton  and  Anne 
Gordon  Mercer  5  (26),  his  wife,  were: 

1.  Robert  Patton  6,  a  distinguished  law 
yer  of  Fredericksburg,  Va.    President  of 
Farmers'  Bank.     He  died,  unmarried,  at 
about  the  age  of  thirty-five,  in  1830,  in 
Spottsylvania  County,  Va. 

2.  Hugh  Mercer  Patton  6.     Died  un 
married  in  1846. 

3.  John  Mercer  Patton  6.    Born  August 
10,  1797.    Died  October  29,  1858.    He  was 
for  many  years  the  acknowledged  leader  of 
the  Richmond  Bar,  a  Representative  in 
Congress  from  Virginia,  and  for  a  short 


108      The  life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

time  Governor  of  the  State  of  Virginia.  He 
married  on  January  8,  1824,  Margaret 
French  Williams  6,  by  whom  he  had  twelve 
children. 

4.  Eleanor  Anne  Patton  6.    Born , 

1805.    Died  June  24, 1890.    She  married  on 
March  24, 1825,  John  James  Chew  6.    Born 

-,  1806.  He  was  Clerk  of  Courts  of 
Fredericksburg.  Died  January  23,  1870, 
at  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  and  had  six 
children. 

5.  William    Fairlie    Patton    6.      Born 

.     Died  .     He  married  Harriet 

Shepherd  Buck  6  and  had  five  children  by 
her. 

6.  Margaretta  L.  Patton  6.    Born , 

1810.    Died  July  2,  1852.    She  married,  on 
April  18,   1835,   John  Minor  Herndon  6. 
Born  May  14,  1808.    Died  September  19, 
1871,  and  had  three  daughters. 

Robert  Patton  5  (27).  Died  in  1827  or 
1828. 

See  report  of  Commissioner  Thomas  D. 
Ranson  in  suit  of  Patton 's  Exec,  against 
Patton 's  creditors  in  Circuit  Court  of  Au 
gusta  County,  Va.,  of  1871. 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer      109 

THE  DESCENDANTS  OF  EGBERT  PATTON  AND 

ANNE  GORDON  MERCER 
The  children  of  the  HONOURABLE  JOHN 
MERCER    PATTON    6    (35)    and    MARGARET 
FRENCH  WILLIAMS  6  (36),  his  wife,  were: 

1.  Eobert  Patton  7.    Born  October  10, 
1824.    Died,  unmarried,  June  13,  1876. 

2.  John  Mercer  Patton  7.    Born  May  9, 
1826.     He  married  first  on  November  11, 
1858,  Sallie  Lindsay  Taylor  7,  daughter  of 
Alex.  Taylor  of  Orange,  Va.    She  died  on 
December  28,  1872.     He  married,  second, 
Lucy  Agnes  Crump,  born  April  29,  1846, 
by  whom  he  had  two  children,  both  girls. 
Died  on  October  9,  1878. 

3.  Isaac  Williams  Patton  7.    Born  Feb 
ruary  4,  1828.     Died  February  — ,  1890. 
He  married  Fanny  Elizabeth  Merritt  7  on 
February  29,  1855.    He  held  many  promi 
nent  positions  in  New  Orleans.    There  were 
three  sons  by  this  marriage. 

4.  Lucy  Anne  Patton  7.    Born  Novem 
ber  7,  1829.    Died  October  31,  1831. 

5.  Hugh  Philip  Patton  7.    Born  July  7, 
1831.    Died  April  2,  1832. 

6.  George  Smith  Patton  7.    Born  June 
26,  1833.     Died  September  — ,  1864.     He 
settled  as  a  lawyer  in  West  Virginia,  volun 
teered  in  the  late  war  between  the  States, 
became  a  Colonel  and  was  killed  at  the 


110      The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

battle  of  Winchester,  near  the  close  of  the 
war.  He  married  Susan  Glassell  7,  Novem 
ber  8,  1855,  and  had  by  her  four  children. 
Mrs.  Patton  afterwards  was  married  to 
Col.  George  Hugh  Smith  of  Los  Angeles, 
Cal.  He  was  the  son  of  the  Eev.  George 
Archibald  Smith  of  Alexandria,  who  mar 
ried  Ophelia  Williams,  sister  of  Margaret 
French  Williams.  There  were  two  chil 
dren  by  this  second  marriage :  a  girl,  Anne 
Patton  Smith,  who  married  Hancock  Ban 
ning  of  Los  Angeles ;  and  a  boy,  who  died, 
full  of  promise,  quite  young. 

7.  Waller    Tazewell    Patton   7.     Born 
July  15, 1835.    Died  July  21, 1863.    He  was 
Colonel  in  the  Southern  Army  and  Senator 
in  the  Virginia  Legislature.    He  was  mor 
tally  wounded  at  the  Battle  of  Gettysburg, 
July  3, 1863,  and  died  a  few  days  later,  un 
married. 

8.  Mary  Mercer  Patton  7.    Born  April 
14,  1837.    Died  August  29,  1841. 

9.  Eliza    Williams    Patton    7.     Born 
February  22,  1839.    Married  on  Novem 
ber    15,    1860,   to    John    Gilmer    6,    born 
January  13,  1826,  of  Chatham,  Va.    He 
died  March  12,  1894.    They  had  several 
children. 

10.  Hugh  Mercer  Patton  7.    Born  April 
6, 1841.    Married  Fannie  Bull  7,  of  Orange, 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer      111 

Va.,  on  October  19, 1870.    They  had  several 
children. 

11.  James    French    Patton    7.      Born 
September  19,  1843.    Died  while  Judge  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  West  Virginia,  at 
Wheeling,  on  March  30,  1882.    He  married 
on   April   6,   1869,    Melinda   Caperton   7, 
daughter  of  Senator  Caperton  of  Union, 
Monroe  County,  Va.,  and  had  by  her  two 
children. 

12.  William  Macfarland  Patton  7.  Born 
August  22,  1845.    Died  May  19,  1905.    He 
studied  engineering,  and  while  Professor 
of  Civil  and  Military  Engineering  at  the 
Virginia   Military   Institute,   he   married 
Miss  Annie  Jordon  on  January  7,  1875,  by 
whom  he  had  several  children,  all  girls. 
She  afterwards  married  Judge  Bingham  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  District  of  Columbia. 


The  children  of  Col.  Jno.  Mercer  Patton 
7  (44)  and  Sally  Lindsay  Taylor  7  (45),  his 
first  wife,  were : 

1.  Jno.  Mercer  Patton,  Junior,  8.  Born 
August  30,  1859.  He  married  on  June  28, 
1890,  Julia  Mattern.  They  had  two  chil 
dren: 

a.  Catherine  8.    Born  April,  1891. 

b.  Jno.  Mercer  Patton  (9),  Jr.     Born 
April,  1892. 


112      The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

2.  Alexander  Taylor  Pattern  8.     Born 
April  19,  1861.    He  married  Miss  Beatrice 
Chandler  of  San  Francisco  in  June,  1901. 
Died  November,  1904.    No  issue. 

3.  Sadie  Lindsay  Patton  8.    Born  Feb 
ruary  7,  1863.    She  married  on  September 
19,  1888,  Capt.  Arthur  Jno.  Hutchinson  8 
(E.  A.),  who  was  born  August  31,  1846. 
Their  children  are: 

a.  Mary  Lindsay  Hutchinson  9.     Born 
August  4,  1890. 

b.  William  Nelson  Lindsay  Hutchinson 
9.    Born  December  7,  1892. 

c.  Arthur  John  Lindsay  Hutchinson  9. 
Born  August  18,  1896. 

4.  George    Tazewell   Patton   8.     Born 
December  25,  1864.     He  was  married  on 
December  10,  1890,  to  Virginia   (Jennie) 
King    Pemberton   8.     Born   February   1, 
1864.    They  have  children: 

a.  Mary  Pemberton  Patton  (9).     Born 
December  3,  1893. 

b.  William  Eives  Patton  (9).    Born  May 
5,  1898. 

c.  George   Tazewell  Patton   (9).     Born 
January  31,  1902. 

5.  James  Lindsay  Patton  8.    Born  No 
vember  20,  1866.    Married  June  28,  1890, 
to  Fanny  Kean  Leake  8,  daughter  of  Judge 
W.  J.  Leake  of  Ashland,  Va.,  and  later  of 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer      113 

Kichmond,  Va.  He  was  a  minister  of  the 
Episcopal  Church  and  Missionary  to 
Japan.  Their  children  are: 

1.  John  Mercer  Patton  (9),  Jr.    Born 
June  7,  1891.    Died  July  1,  1892. 

2.  Sadie  Patton  9.    Born  July  5,  1893. 

3.  Martha  Callis  Patton  9.    Born  Octo 
ber  5,  1896. 

4.  James  Lindsay  Patton  9.    Born  De 
cember  13,  1900. 

5.  William  Josiah  Leake  Patton  9.  Born 
July  28,  1902. 

6.  Fanny  Leake  Patton  9.    Born  March 
10,  1905. 

7.  Robert    Williams    Patton    8.     Born 
February  18, 1869.    Married  on  January  1, 
1900,  Janie  Slaughter  Stringfellow.    Born 
August  15,  1876,  daughter  of  Rev.  Frank 
Stringfellow  of  Raccoon  Ford,  Va.,  and 
Emma  Francis  Green,  born  1843,  of  Alex 
andria,  Va.    Issue: 

Alice  Lee  Patton  9.  Bom  July  25,  1901, 
near  the  Meadows  in  Albernmrle  County, 
Va. 

8.  William  Rives  Patton  8.    Born  April 
3,1871.    Died  May  29, 1897.    Unmarried. 

9.  Alfred   Slaughter  Patton  8.     Born 
October,  1872.    Died  July  28,  1873. 


114      The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

THE  DESCENDANTS  OF  ANNE  GOKDON  MERCER 

AND  ROBERT  PATTON. 
The  children  of  Col.  Jno.  M.  Patton  (44) 
and  Lucy  Agnes  Crump,  his  second  wife, 
are: 

9.  Susan  French  Patton  8.    Born  Sep 
tember  11,  1884. 

10.  Agnes  Parke  Patton  8.    Born  Feb 
ruary  19,  1887. 


The  children  of  Col.  Isaac  Williams  Pat- 
ton  7  (46)  and  Fanny  E.  Merritt  7  (47) 
were: 

1.  William     Thomas     Patton.       Born 
March  18, 1856.    Died  July  4, 1896. 

2.  Mary  Mercer  Patton.    Born  March  9, 
1861.    Died  August  — ,  1864. 

3.  George  Tazewell  Patton.    Born  No 
vember  14,  1864. 

4.  Mercer  Williams  Patton.    Born  Oc 
tober  26, 1867.    Married. 


THE  DESCENDANTS  OP  EGBERT  PATTON  AND 
ANNE  GORDON  MERCER 

The  children  of  George  Smith  Patton  7 
(50)  and  his  wife,  Susan  Thornton  Glassell 
7  (51),  were: 

George  Smith  Patton.   He  married  Euth 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer      115 

Wilson  of  California.    They  have  two  chil 
dren. 

2.  Ellen  Thornton  Patton.     She  mar 
ried  Tom  Brown,  Esq.,  of  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 
He  died  about  1895.    They  have  three  chil 
dren. 

3.  Andrew  Glassell  Patton. 

4.  Susan  Glassell  Patton.  Married  1904. 


THE  DESCENDANTS  OF  ROBERT  PATTON  AND 

His  WIFE,  ANNE  GORDON  MERCER 
The  children  of  Eliza  Williams  Patton 
7  (54)  and  John  Gilmer  7  (55),  her  hus 
band,  were: 

1.  John  Patton  Gilmer.    Born  Septem 
ber  9,  1861.    Married  on  October  16,  1895, 
to  Lucy  Dabney  Walker.    Born  October  10, 
1872.    They  have  one  child. 

2.  William  Wirt  Gilmer.    Born  May  21, 
1863.    Unmarried. 

3.  Tazewell  Gilmer.     Born  March  30, 
1865. 

4.  Mary  Eidgeway  Gilmer.    Born  Au 
gust  9,  1866. 

5.  Francis  Walker  Gilmer.    Born  May 
23,  1868.    Died  November  7,  1879. 

6.  Mercer  Williams  Gilmer.    Born  De 
cember  30, 1869.    Unmarried. 

7.  James  Carrington  Gilmer.    Born  De 
cember  7,  1871. 


116      The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

8.  Lindsay  Gilmer.    Born  July  7,  1873. 

9.  Isabel  Breckinridge  Gilmer.     Born 
December  26, 1879. 


THE  DESCENDANTS  OF  ROBERT  PATTON  AND 

ANNE  GOKDON  MERCER 
The  children  of  Hugh  Mercer  Patton  7 
(56)  and  Frances  Dade  Bull  7  (57)  were : 

1.  Marguerita  French  Patton  8.    Born 
September  22,  1871.    She  married  on  June 

9,  1895,   George  Harmer  Gilmer  8,  born 
December  19,  1864,  son  of  Judge  George 
Henry  Gilmer  of  Chatham,  Va.    They  live 
in  Lynchburg,  Va.    Issue : 

a.  Helen  Mercer  Gilmer  9.    Born  Janu 
ary  8, 1896. 

b.  Rita  Carrington  Gilmer.    Born  July 

10,  1899. 

2.  Sally  Lindsay  Patton.     Born  Sep 
tember  15,  1872.    Died  -   -. 

3.  Frances  Payton  Patton.    Born  May 
4,  1876. 

4.  John  Mercer  Patton.    Born  January 

11,  1878. 

5.  Marie  Louise  Patton.     Died  in  in 
fancy. 

6.  Mabel  Blair  Patton.    Born  June  27, 
188].. 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer      117 

7.  Helen  Lee  Patton.    Born  October  — , 
1882. 

8.  Marcus  Bade  Patton.     Died  in  in 
fancy. 

9.  Clayton  Lorenzo  Patton.    Born  Au 
gust  11,  1892.    Died  in  infancy. 


THE  DESCENDANTS  OF  EGBERT  PATTON  AND 

ANNE  GORDON  MERCER 
James  French  Patton  7  (58).    Married 
Melinda  Caperton  (59)  and  had  issue: 

1.  Harriet  Echols  Patton.     Born  Au 
gust  25, 1870.    Married  1903. 

2.  Allen  Gilmer  Patton.    Born  Decem 
ber  1,  1871.    Married  1903. 


William  Macfarland  Patton  7  (66). 
Married  Annie  Jordon  7  (61)  and  had 
issue : 

1.  Sallie  Taylor  Patton.     Born  April 
26,  1877.    Married  on  August  28,  1905,  at 
Blacksburg,  Va.,  Prof.  -    — . 

2.  Margaret  French  Patton.    Born  Au 
gust  13,  1878. 

3.  Virginia  Mercer  Patton.    Born  Sep 
tember  21,  1880. 

4.  Nannie  Maria  Patton.    Born  July  6, 
1882. 


118      The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

5.  Agnes  Lee  Patton.    Born  September 
30,  1884. 

6.  Lucy  Williams   Patton.     Born  De 
cember  20, 1886. 

7.  Elizabeth    Jordan    Patton.      Born 
January  1,  1876.    Died  July  13,  1876. 


THE  DESCENDANTS  OF  EGBERT  PATTON  AND 
ANNE  GORDON  MERCER 


The  Chew  Family 

Eleanor  Anne  Patton  6  (37).  Married 
John  James  Chew  6  (38)  of  Fredericks- 
burg,  Va.,  who  was  for  many  years  a  Clerk 
of  the  Courts  of  Fredericksburg,  and  had 
issue  as  follows : 

1.  Anne  Mercer  Chew  7.  Born  Febru 
ary  26, 1826.  Died  May  13, 1896.  She  mar 
ried,  on  October  14,  1851,  Frank  Thornton 
Forbes.  Born  January  11,  1826,  and  died 
December,  1905,  and  had  issue  as  follows : 

The  Forbes  Family 

a.  John  James  Forbes  8.    Born  Septem 
ber  — ,  1852.    Died  May  — ,  1855. 

b.  Sallie  Innes  Forbes  8.    Born  August 
17, 1854. 


The  life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer      119 

c.  James   Fitzgerald  Forbes   8.     Born 
July  14,  1856. 

d.  Eliza  French  Forbes  8.    Born  Sep 
tember  19, 1858. 

e.  Ellen  Patton  Forbes  8.    Born  Novem 
ber  25, 1860.    Married  Dr.  William  Wayne 

Owens  of  Savannah,  Ga.,  on .    Issue: 

William  Duncan  Owens  9.    Born  June  22, 
1894. 

/.  Anne  Mercer  Forbes  8.  Born  Febru 
ary  4,  1864. 

The  Chew  Family. 

Robert  Stanard  Chew,  born  October  3, 
1828.  Died  August  17,  1886.  Unmarried. 
Succeeded  his  father  as  Clerk  of  the  Courts 
of  Fredericksburg,  graduated  in  n*edieine, 
and  was  Colonel  of  the  30th  Virginia  Regi 
ment,  C.  S.  A. 

3.  Ellen  Patton  Chew.    Born  Septem 
ber  17,  1837.    Died  May  22,  1896.    Unmar 
ried. 

4.  Hugh  Patton  Chew  7.    Born  Septem 
ber .    Died  January  30, 1873.    He  mar 
ried  Bessie  Bainbridge  7  on ,  and  had 

three  children: 

a.  Eleanor  Patton  Chew  8.     Born  No 
vember  13,  1868. 

b.  John  James  Chew  8.    Born  January 
22,  1871. 


120      The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

c.  Bessie  Mason  Bainbridge  Chew  8. 
Born  August  — ,  1873.  Died . 

Mrs.  Bessie  Bainbridge  Chew  was  mar 
ried  on ,  18 — ,  to  William  M.  Grafton, 

and  now  resides  (May,  1899)  at  Sewickley, 
near  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 


The  Crutchfield  Family 

5.  Elizabeth  French  Chew  7.  Born 
June  13,  1843. 

She  married,  on  January  13, 1865,  Edgar 
Crutchfield  (born  March  1,  1840)  of  Fred- 
ericksburg,  Va.,  and  had  issue: 

a.  Eleanor  Patton  Crutchfield  8.    Born 
May  6,  1866. 

She  married,  on  November,  — ,  1892, 
Clement  Bead  Carrington  8,  born  July  25, 
1854,  and  died ,  and  had  issue : 

1.  Abram  Cabell  Carrington  9.     Born 
January  26,  1894. 

2.  Elizabeth  Crutchfield  Carrington  9. 
Born  June  30, 1896. 

b.  Stapleton   Crutchfield  8.     Born  Au 
gust  24, 1868.    Died . 

He  married  on  September  12, 1893,  Mary 
Lee  Van  House,  born  December  12,  1873, 
and  had  issue  by  her : 

1.  Elizabeth  Mercer  Crutchfield  9.  Born 
March  18,  1895.  Died  July  7,  1896. 


The  life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer      121 

2.  Joy  Mantlebert  Crutchfield  9.  Born 
December  23,  1896. 

c.  Susan  Gatewood  Crutchfield  8.  Born 
December  23,  1870. 

Married  on  October  24,  1895,  to  Daniel 
Shriver  Kussell  8,  and  had  issue : 

1.  Elizabeth     Mantlebert     Kussell     9. 
Born  August  14,  1896. 

2.  Eleanor  Blain  Eussell  9.    Born  Oc 
tober  26,  1898. 


d.  Anne  Minor  Crutchfield  8.    Born  Feb 
ruary  14,  18—.    Died  May  22,  1898. 

e.  Margaretta  Taylor  Crutchfield  8.  Born 
November  7,  1876. 

/.  Elizabeth  French  Crutchfield  8.  Born 
February  3, 1879. 

Married  Mr.  John  Minor  Gatewood  of 
Boston,  June  1,  1905. 

g.  Mercer  Forbes  Crutchfield  8.  Born 
August  15, 1881. 


6.  Margaretta  Herndon  Chew  7.  Born 
April,  1846. 

She  married,  on  January  28,  1873,  Ar 
thur  Taylor  (born  October  13,  1844)  of 
Fredericksburg,  Va.  They  have  issue  as 
follows : 


122      The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

a.  Bobert  Chew  Taylor  8.    Born  October 
7, 1879. 

b.  Fanny  Mackall  Taylor  8.    Born  Oc 
tober  4,  1881. 

c.  Margaretta  Mercer  Taylor  8.     Born 
April  15,  1885. 


The  children  of  William  Fairlie  Patton  6 
(39)  and  Harriet  Shepherd  Buck  6  (40) 
were  : 

1.  Anthony  Patton  7.    Born .    Died 

January  21,  1905. 

He  married  Virginia  Bernard  Coakley 
on ,  18 — .  No  issue. 

2.  Mary  Patton  7,  twin  of  the  above. 
Born .    Died . 

She  married  Eichard  Henry  Catlett  7, 

born  ,  of  Staunton,  Va.     They  have 

three  children. 

3.  William  Fairlie  Patton  7.  Died . 

4.    .    Died  in  infancy. 

5.  Anne  Gordon  Patton  7.    Born . 

She  married,  on  ,  18 — ,  Gen.  Jno. 

Eogers  Cooke.    Born  June  10,  1833.    Died 
April  10,  1891,  and  had  eleven  children. 

6.  Fairlie    Preston    Patton    7.      Born 
March  10,  1851. 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer      123 

He  married  Winnie  T.  Branham  (born 
April  18,  1853)  on  April  18,  1875.  They 
have  five  children. 


The  children  of  Mary  Patton  7  (163)  and 
Richard  Henry  Catlett  7  (164)  are : 

1.  Charles  Catlett.     Born  August  18, 
1865. 

He  married,  on  November  6,  1890,  Eliza 
beth  Marye  Hunton,  daughter  of  James 
Innis  Hunton  of  Warrenton,  Va.,  and  had 
issue  by  her  as  follows : 

a.  Lucy  Hunton  Catlett.    Born  Septem 
ber  26,  1891. 

b.  Richard  Henry  Catlett.     Born  Octo 
ber  19,  1892. 

c.  Elizabeth  McNemara  Catlett.     Born 
June  22,  1895. 

2.  Richard  Henry  Catlett.    Born  Novem 
ber  27,  1868. 

3.  William  Fairlie  Catlett.     Born  Au 
gust  8,  1871.    Died  November  — ,  1872. 

The  Cooke  Branch 

The  children  of  Anne  Gordon  Patton  7 
(167)  and  Gen.  Jno.  Rogers  Cooke  7  (168) 
were: 

1.  Jno.  Rogers  Cooke  (8),  Jr.  Born 
March  29, 1865. 


124      The  life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

2.  Fairlie  Patton  Cooke  8.    Born  May 
2,  1867. 

Married  October  26,  1904,  to  Miss  Mary 
Edmonia  Rogers  of  Richmond,  Va. 

3.  Ellen  Mercer  Cooke  8.    Born . 

She  married,  on  November  14, 1895,  Aus 
tin  Brockenbrough  8.  Born  April  18, 1862, 
and  had  issue: 

a.  Austin  Brockenbrough.    Born  July  6, 
1899. 

b.  Anne  Gordon  Brockenbrough.    Born 
April  27,  1903. 

4.  Philip  St.  Geo.  Cooke  8.    Born  No 
vember  3,  1871. 

5.  EstenCookeS.    Born  March  10, 1873. 
Died ,  1873. 

6.  Wilt  Cooke  8.    Born  March  10,  1873. 
Died ,  1873. 

7.  Rachel  Cooke  8.    Born  June  16, 1874. 

8.  Harriet  Shepherd  Cooke  8.  Born  Au 
gust  10, 1876.    Married,  on  March  27, 1900, 
to  Mr.  William  Jefferson  Wallace.    Born 
,  18 — .    Issue:  Virginia  Gordon  Wal 
lace.    Born  March  12,  1903. 

9.  Nanny  Gordon  Cooke  8.    Born  Octo 
ber    5,    1878.     Married,    on    October    24, 
1905,   Stafford  A.  Parker,  of  Richmond, 
Va. 

10.  Stuart  Cooke  8.    Born  December  8, 
1879.     Married,  on  January  22,  1903,  to 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer      125 

Miss  Martha  Ann  Lundy  (born  July  18, 
)  of  Bichmond,  Va. 


The  children  of  Fairlie  Preston  Patton  7 
(169)  and  Winnie  T.  Branham  7  (170)  are: 

1.  Fairlie  Clifton  Patton.    Born  Decem 
ber  4, 1876. 

2.  Sterling  Hume   Patton.     Born  De 
cember  19,  1878.    Died  December  28,  1878. 

3.  Eobert   Antony   Patton.    Born   De 
cember  13,  1879. 

4.  Mary  Alice  Patton.     Born  May  8, 
1884. 

5.  Eugenie  Virginia  Patton.  Born  April 
24, 1886. 

6.  William  Henry  Patton.  Born  Decem 
ber  22,  1887. 

7.  John  Mercer  Patton.    Born  Febru 
ary  9,  1891. 

8.  Winnie   Baidie  Patton.     August  6, 
1893. 

9.  Hugh  Peyton  Patton.     October  26, 
1895. 

The  Herndon  Family 

The  children  of  Margaretta  Patton  6 
(41)  and  John  Minor  Herndon  6  (41)  were : 

1.  Ellen  Mercer  Herndon  7.  Born  April 
29,  1836.  Died  January  29,  1888. 


126      The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

2.  Nanny   Gordon   Herndon   7.     Born 
,  1838.    Died  August  1, 1862. 

3.  Elizabeth  Fairlie  Herndon  7.    Born 
,  1841.    Died  January  3,  1892. 

She  married,  on ,  18 — ,  Seth  Barton 

French  7  (born  October  5, ),  who  is  a 

prominent  financier   in  the  city  of  New 
York.    They  had  three  children : 

a.  Margaretta  Patton  French  8.     Born 
July  25,  1857.    Died  November  30,  1878. 

b.  John  Herndon  French.    Born  August 
4, 1859. 

He  married,  on  November  14,  1888, 
Sarah  Ann  Spies  Cockrane  8  (born  Febru 
ary  18,  1865),  by  whom  he  has  children: 

1.  Seth  Barton  French,  Jr.    Born  Au 
gust  17,  1889. 

2.  Hilah  Cockrane  French.    Born  Janu 
ary  28,  1891. 

3.  Ellen  Mercer  French.    Born  March 
8, 1896. 

4.  John   Herndon   French,   Jr.     Born 
February  26,  1898. 

c.  George  Barton  French  8.    Born  Feb 
ruary  12,  1864. 

Married  Adela  Lesher  on  April  29,  1886. 
No  issue. 
He  next  married  Miss of  Denver. 

d.  Nannie    Gordon    French    8.      Born 
March  25,  1866. 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer      127 

She  married,  on  April  21,  1885,  Charles 
Steele  8  (born  May  5, 1857),  who  is  a  mem 
ber  of  the  firm  of  J.  P.  Morgan  &  Co., 
bankers,  New  York  City.  They  have 
children : 

a.  Eleanor  Herndon  Steele  8.  Born  July 
12,  1891. 

b.  Nancy  Gordon  Steele  9.    Born  Octo 
ber  11,  1894. 

c.  Catheryn  Nevitt  Steele.    Born  March 
1,  1896.  

THE  DESCENDANTS  OF  COL.  HUGH  MEKCEE 

AND  LOUISA  GRIFFIN 

The  children  of  Col.  Hugh  Mercer  5  (31) 
of  the  "Sentry  Box,"  Fredericksburg, 
Va.,  and  Louisa  Griffin  5  (32),  his  wife, 
were: 

1.  Hugh  Weedon  Mercer  6.    Born  No 
vember  27,  1808.    Died  June  9,  1877.    He 
settled  in  Savannah,  Ga.     Married,  first, 
Mary  Stiles  Anderson  6  (born  September 
17,  1812;  died  February  3, 1855)  of  Savan 
nah,  Ga.,  on  February  5,  1834,  and  had  by 
her  six  children.    He  married,  second,  Mrs. 
George  A.  Cuyler  6  (nee  Steenberger)  of 
Virginia,  and  had  one  child,  a  daughter. 

He  was  Major-General  in  the  Confeder 
acy,  and  died  at  Baden-Baden,  Germany. 

2.  George   Weedon   Mercer    6.     Born 


128      The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

January  3,  1816.    Died  September  9,  1858, 
unmarried. 

3.  Julia  Weedon  Mercer  6.    Born . 

Died  December  10,  1883. 

She  married,  on  May  12,  1825,  Dr.  Eob- 
ert  Page  Waller  6  (born  -  — ;  died  July  21, 
1872)  of  Williamsburg,  Va.,  and  had  issue. 

4.  John  Cyrus  Mercer  6.    Born  at  Fred- 
ericksburg,  May  12,  1810.    Died  March  26, 
1884.    He  practiced  medicine  in  Williams- 
burg,  Va.;  was  appointed  Surgeon  in  the 
U.  S.  Navy;  resigned;  appointed  Surgeon 
in  the  Confederate  States  Navy;  with  the 
Marine  Hospital,  Norfolk. 

He  married  Catherine  Waller  6,  died 
May  24,  1892,  daughter  of  Dr.  Eobert  Page 
Waller,  and  had  issue. 

5.  Louisa  Mercer  6.    She  married  Rev. 
Dr.  John  Leyburn  6,  a  Presbyterian  min 
ister.    Born  -  — .    Died  -  — .    No  issue. 

Miss  Julia  Weedon  Mercer  was  the  sec 
ond  wife  of  Dr.  E.  P.  Waller,  his  first  wife 
being  Eliza  Corbin  Griffin. 

The  children  of  Gen.  Hugh  Weedon  Mer 
cer  6  (211)  and  Mary  Stiles  Anderson  6 
(212),  his  first  wife,  are: 

1.  George  Anderson  Mercer  7.  Born 
February  9,  1835. 

He  married,  on  October  23,  1861,  Nanny 
Maury  Herndon  7  (died  June  16,  1885)  of 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer      129 

Fredericksburg,  Va.,  daughter  of  Dr.  Bro- 
die  Herndon,  and  by  her  had  issue : 

1.  Nannie   Herndon   Mercer   8.    Born 
January  8,  1866. 

She  married,  on  April  24,  1889,  Joseph 
Muir  Lang  8  (born  February  4,  1861)  and 
has  issue : 

a.  George  Mercer  Lang.  Born  July  13, 
1894. 

2.  George    Anderson    Mercer.     Born 
March  2,  1868. 

He  married,  on  April  19,  1892,  Mary 
Walter  8  of  Savannah,  Ga.  (born  October 
8,  1872),  and  has  issue: 

a.  George  Anderson  Mercer.    Born  Feb 
ruary  7,  1893. 

b.  George  Walter  Mercer.    Born  April 
20,  1897. 

3.  Lewis    Herndon    Mercer    8.     Born 
March  4,  1870.    Settled  in  New  York. 

4.  Eobert  Lee  Mecrer  8.    Born  Novem 
ber  24,  1871. 

He  married,  on  October  27,  1896,  Kath- 
erine  Mackay  Stiles  8  of  Cartersville,  Ga. 
Born  April  29,  1870. 

5.  Edward  Clifford  Anderson  Mercer  8. 
Born  November  13,  1873. 

He  married,  on  June  8,  1898,  Josephine 
Freeland  8  of  Charleston,  S.  C.  Born 
March  4, 1875. 


130      The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

6.  Hugh  Weedon  Mercer  8.    Died  in  in 
fancy,  February  3,  1871.    Born  August  25, 
1863. 

7.  Brodie   Herndon   Mercer   8.     Born 
,  1876.    Died  in  infancy,  June  13, 1878. 

3.  Hugh    Weedon    Mercer    7.      Born 
March  3,  1846.    Died  June  7,  1847. 

2.  William  Gordon  Mercer  7.  Born 
May  26,  1843.  Died  November  26,  1844. 

4.  Eobert  Lee  Mercer  7.    Born  July  10, 
1848. 

5.  Mary  Stuart  Mercer  7.    Born  Janu 
ary  12,  1842. 

She  married,  on  February  5,  1863,  Gen 
eral  Henry  Harrison  Walker  of  Sussex 
County,  Va.  (born  October  15,  1833),  and 
has  issue.  General  Walker's  father  was 
John  Harrison  Walker  of  Sussex  County, 
Va.,  and  his  mother  was  Marie  Louise  Car- 
gill,  also  of  Sussex  County.  They  had  ten 
children,  of  whom  General  Walker  was 
second  child. 

6.  Georgia  Anderson  Mercer  7.    Born 
September  6, 1851.    Died  December  5, 1878. 

She  married,  on  January  15,  1874,  Eob 
ert  Ap thorp  Boit  of  Boston,  Mass.  (Born 
April  29,  1846.)  She  died  at  the  birth  of 
her  second  child,  leaving  two  daughters. 

1.  Mary  Anderson  Mercer  8.  Born 
September  5,  1877. 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer      131 

2.  Georgia  Mercer  8.  Born  November 
25,  1875. 

The  child  of  Gen.  Hugh  Weedon  Mercer 
6  (211)  and  Mrs.  George  A.  Cuyler  6  (nee 
Bessie  Steenberger)  (213),  his  second 
wife,  is : 

1.    Alice. 


The  children  of  Gen.  Henry  H.  Walker  7 
(251)  and  Mary  Mercer  7  (250)  are: 

1.  Mary  Mercer  Walker  8.    Born  May 
29,  1864. 

She  married,  on  September  17,  1890, 
George  Evelyn  Harrison  8  of  Brandon-on- 
the-James-River,  Va. 

2.  Louise  Cargill  Walker  8.    Born  Sep 
tember  25,  1869. 

3.  Henry   Harrison  Walker   8.     Born 
January  11,  1872. 

4.  Hugh  Mercer  Walker  8.    Born  April 
17,  1876. 

5.  Alice  Stuart  Walker  8.  Born  Novem 
ber  24,  1877. 

She  married,  on  January  7,  1899,  Edwin 
A.  Stevens  Lewis  of  Castle  Point,  Hobo- 
ken,  N.  J. 

The  children  of  Dr.  Eobert  Page  Waller 
6  (216)  and  Julia  Weedon  Mercer  6  (215) 
were: 


132      The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

1.  Hugh  Mercer  Waller  7.     Born  De 
cember,  1829.    Died  May  30,  1896. 

2.  Laura  Page  Waller  7.   Born  July  31, 
1828. 

She  married,  on  October  15,  1846,  Dr. 
William  Sylvanus  Morris  7  of  Lynchburg, 
Va.  (born  March  17,  1821;  died  December 
20,  1893),  and  had  issue: 

3.  Louisa  Mercer  Waller  7.    Born  Feb 
ruary  7, 1826.    Died  October  30, 1856.    She 
married  Captain  J.  B.  Cosnahan  of  South 

Carolina  7  (born  1821,  died  1862)  on , 

1843,  and  had  issue : 

4.  Julia  Weedon  Waller  7.    Born  No 
vember  23, 1836.    Died  October  30,  1860. 

5.  Isabella  Stuart  7.    Born  1833.    Died 
May  15,  1855. 

Kate  Page  Waller  7.  Born  November 
15, 1840. 

She  married,  on  July  3,  1861,  Charles 
Scott  Langhorne  7  (born  January  23, 1836; 
died  March  31, 1896). 

(Issue:  page  95  of  Notebook  of  Mercer 
Family.) 


The  children  of  Dr.  William  Sylvanus 
Morris  7  (280)  and  Page  Waller  7  (279) 
were: 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer      133 

1.  Mary  Mercer  Morris.    Born . 

She  married,  on  ,  Mr.  Nowlin  of 

Lynchburg. 

2.  Charles  Morris. 

3.  Eobert   Page   Waller   Morris.     He 
married. 

Judge  of  United  States  District  Court  of 
Minnesota,  appointed  by  President  Roose 
velt,  and  late  Member  of  Congress  from 
Minnesota. 

4.  John  Speed  Morris  8. 

He  married,  on  February  19, 1882,  Pattie 
Cary  Kean  8  (born  April  11, 1858)  and  had 
issue : 

a.  Robert  Morris  9.    Born ,  1883. 

b.  Mary  Randolph  Morris  9. 

c.  Page  Waller  Morris  9.    Born  July  1, 
1896. 

d.  William   Sylvanus   Morris   9.     Born 
May  6,  1888. 

5.  Lou  Belle  Morris  8. 

She  married,   first,   Mr.   Langhorne   of 
Lynchburg,  and  had  issue: 
"l.     Sallie. 

2.    Bessie. 

She  married,   second,   on  ,  Robert 

Stanard  8,  and  left  issue: 

1.  Virginia.    Born . 

2.    .    Born . 


134      The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

The  children  of  J.  B.  Cosnahan  8  (282) 
and  Louisa  Mercer  Waller  8  (281)  are: 

1.  Eoberta  Ould  Cosnahan  9.  Born 
April  29,  1844. 

She  married,  on  December  25,  1871, 
Charles  Camm  9,  born  April  18,  1844,  and 
had  issue  living : 

Florence  Waller  Camm.  Born  March  9, 
1874. 

Edward  Camm.  Born  February  28, 1876. 

Louise  Page.    Born  September  2,  1879. 

3.  Mary  Mercer  Cosnahan  9.  Born  Oc 
tober  5,  1850. 

She  married,  on  December  22, 1869,  Prof. 
Thomas  Jeffres  Stubbs  9  of  William  and 
Mary  College  (born  September  14,  1841), 
and  had  issue  living : 

a.  Annie  Waller  Carter  Stubbs  10.  Born 
January  7,  1872. 

fc.  J.  T.  Stubbs,  Jr.,  10.  Born  December 
11,  1879. 

c.  Lucy  Talioferro  Conway  Stubbs.  Born 
October  11,  1882. 

d.  Mary  Mercer  Stubbs.    Born  June  1, 
1885. 


The  children  of  Dr.  John  Cyrus  Mercer 
6  (217)  and  Mary  Catherine  Waller  6  (218) 
were: 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer      135 

1.  Eobert  Page  Mercer  7.    Died  in  in 
fancy. 

2.  Mary  Louisa  Mercer  7.    Born  June 
12,  1839. 

She  married,  on  January  3,  1867,  Eev. 
Daniel  Blain  7  (born  November  20,  1838) 
of  the  West  Hanover  Presbytery,  Va.,  and 
had  issue : 

3.  Eliza  Christina  Mercer  7. 

She  married,  on  November  26,  1861,  Dr. 

Beverly  St.  George  Tucker  7  (born ; 

died  December,  1896),  and  had  issue : 

4.  Thomas  Hugh  Mercer  7.     Born  in 
1845.    Died  1864.    Unmarried.    Lieutenant 
G.  S.  A. 

5.  Corbin  Waller  Mercer  7.    Born  April 
2,  1845. 

He  married,  on  November  25,  1885,  Fan 
nie  Burwell  Nelson  7  (born  July  16,  1848), 
daughter  of  William  Nelson  of  Yorktown, 
second  grandson  of  Governor  Nelson,  and 
had  issue: 

6.  Catherine  Stuart  Mercer  7.    Born  at 
Williamsburg,  1847. 

She  married,  on  November  26, 1873,  Wil 
liam  Stuart  Wall  (died  in  Durham,  N.  C., 
1891),  and  had  issue: 

7.  John  Leyburn  Mercer  7.    Born  Au 
gust  2,  1849. 

He  married,  on  March  31, 1875,  Jean  Sin- 


136      The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

clair  Bright  7  (born  December  20,  1850), 
daughter  of  Samuel  Bright  of  Williams- 
burg,  and  had  issue : 

8.  Blakely  Carter  Mercer  7.    Died  in  in 
fancy. 

9.  Eobert  Page  Mercer  7. 

He  married  Sally  Tourman  7,  and  they 
have  issue: 

10.  Isabella   Stuart  Waller  Mercer  7. 
Born  September  29,  1858.    She  married  on 
October  18,  1888,  Charles  McGary  7  (born 
November  12, 1858),  of  Durham,  N.  C.,  and 
have  issue.     Charles  McGary  was  son  of 
Captain  P.  McGary  of  the  U.  S.  Navy,  and 
was  born  in  Buenos  Ayres. 

2.  George  Weedon  Mercer  7.  Born 
June  4,  1863. 

He  married  Elizabeth  Butterworth  7 
(born  September  9,  1872)  on  January  5, 
1893,  and  has  issue : 


The  children  of  Rev.  Daniel  Blain  7  (328) 
and  Mary  Louisa  Mercer  7  (327)  are: 

1.  Rev.  John  Mercer  Blain  8.  Born 
April  30,  1869. 

He  went  as  a  missionary  to  China  and 
there  married,  on  August  24,  1897,  Claude 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer      137 

Lacy  Grier  8  of  North  Carolina.  They  have 
issue : 

a.  Daniel  Blain  9.    Born  December  17, 
1898. 

b.  Mary  Grier  Blain.    Born  October  27, 
1900. 

c.  Margaret  Gary  Blain.    Born  October 
14,  1903. 

2.  Randolph  Harrison  Blain  8.     Born 
January  12,  1871.    Married  Jean  Throck- 
morton  Forman,  August  23,  1899.    Issue: 
(1)  Mary  Louise.  Born  August  14, 1900,  at 
Coresville,  Va.  (2)  Stanton  Forman.  Born 
in  Louisville,  Ky.,  July  22, 1902. 

3.  Samuel  Stuart  Blain  8.    Born  Octo 
ber  18,  1872. 

4.  Hugh  Mercer  Blain  8.    Born  Decem 
ber  26, 1874.  Married,  at  Waynesboro,  Va., 
Mary  Moore  Winston,  June  26,  1901.    Is 
sue:  (1)  Elizabeth  Winston.   Born  Novem 
ber  28,  1902,    (2)  Hugh  Mercer.    Born  Au 
gust  14, 1905. 

5.  Daniel  Blain  8.    Son  of  Eev.  Daniel 
Blain  and  Mary  Louise,  his  wife,  nee  Mer 
cer.    Born  November  23,  1877.    Died  Octo 
ber  28,  1879. 

6.  Robert  Waller  Blain  8.    Born  June 
18,  1879. 

7.  Gary  Randolph  Blain  8.  Born  March 
11,  1882. 


138      The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

The  children  of  Dr.  Beverly  St.  G. 
Tucker  7  (330)  and  Eliza  Christina  Mercer 
7  (329)  are: 

1.  John  Speed  Tucker  8. 
He  married. 

2.  Dr.  Beverly  Tucker  8. 
He  married. 

3.  Eliza  Christina  Tucker  8.  Born . 

She  married. 

4.  St.  George  Tucker  8. 

5.  Hugh  Mercer  Tucker  8. 

6.  Henrietta  Elizabeth  Tucker  8. 


The  issue  of  Corbin  Waller  Mercer  7 
(332)  and  Hannie  Burwell  Nelson  7  (333) 
are: 

1.  William  Nelson  Mercer  8.   Born  Sep 
tember  27,  1888.    Died  April  2,  1889. 

2.  Waller  Nelson  Mercer  8.    Born  No 
vember  3,  1891. 


The  children  of  William  Lewis  Wall  7 
(335)  and  Catherine  Stuart  Mercer  7  (334) 
are: 

1.  Mary  Stuart  Wall  8.  Born  Decem 
ber  17, 1875. 

She  married,  on  June  1,  1898,  William 
Guthrie  8  (born  January  12,  1874). 


The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer      139 

2.  Catherine    Mercer    Wall    8.      Born 
March  7, 1882. 

3.  William  Lewis  Wall,  Jr.,  8.     Born 
September  21,  1887. 


The  children  of  John  Leyburn  Mercer  7 
(336)  and  Jean  Sinclair  Bright  7  (337)  are: 

1.  Jean  Christine  Mercer  8.    Born  De 
cember  23, 1875. 

2.  Mary  Waller  Mercer  8.    Born  Octo 
ber  13,  1877. 

3.  Thomas  Hugh  Mercer  8.    Born  No 
vember  6,  1879. 

4.  John  Leyburn  Mercer  8.    Born  Octo 
ber  11,  1881.    Died  July  16,  1882. 


The  issue  of  Eobert  Page  Mercer  7  (340) 
and  Sally  Tourman  7  (341)  is: 

1.  Hugh  Mercer  8.  Born  August  4, 
1893.  Died  October,  1904. 


The  issue  of  Charles  McGary  7  (343)  and 
Isabella  Stuart  Waller  Mercer  7  (342)  are: 

1.    .      Born    September    17,    . 

Died  before  being  named. 

2.  Mary  Mercer  McGary.    Born  Janu 
ary  29,  1891. 


140      The  Life  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 

3.  Annie  Bell  McGary.    Born  February 
20,  1893. 

4.  Isabel  Stuart  McGary.    Born  March 
15,  1895. 


The  issue  of  George  Weedon  Mercer  7 
(344)  and  Bessie  Butterworth  7  (345)  is: 

1.  Linden  Waller  Mercer  8.  Born  Au 
gust  19,  1893.  Died  June  2,  1896. 


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